Storm Child
by Hoshi-tachi
Summary: An amnesiac boy appears in the G-boys' living room, and their only clue to his identity is this odd scar... Slash, Harry/Wufei, Heero/Duo, Trowa/Quatre.
1. An Appearence

Title: Storm Child

Author: hoshi-tachi

Category: Gundam Wing/Harry Potter crossover

Rating: PG-13 for now

Summary:  An amnesiac boy falls into the G-boys' latest safehouse, and their only clue to his identity is this odd scar…

Warnings: THIS WILL BE YAOI!!!  I don't know how to make it any clearer than that.  Pairings WILL be 5+HP and 1x2, with 3+4 in the future, and probably RW/HG.  If you don't like it, then go read some other fic.

Other warnings include those for violence and cussing.

Disclaimer:  I own absolutely nothing.  Nothing includes both Gundam Wing and Harry Potter.  Got it?

Oh, and this is set as an AU fifth year fic, both because the Prophecy doesn't _quite fit, and cuz I want Sirius in it.  Complain and I'll cry._

* * * * *

_…I'm about to be on the floor again_

_Surely you're gonna find me here_

_I'm about to sleep until the end of time_

_Drug I take gonna wake my fear right now…_

_-3 Doors Down, "Better Life"_

* * * * * 

Chang Wufei ducked as bullets slammed through the space where his head had been only a moment before.  Wincing as a ricochet came _way_ too close, he fired at the OZ soldier, hitting him in the chest.  Beside him, Yuy shot the last remaining soldier, leaving the way out of the base at least temporarily clear.

Wufei dug a hand into his pocket, making sure the disk they'd downloaded the stolen data onto was still there, then nodded to his fellow terrorist.  Together, they ran through the empty corridors, reaching the motor pool just as sirens announcing their presence began to wail.

A quick lock-picking later, the two were gone, tearing out of the hangar in a stolen car amidst gunfire as soldiers belatedly poured out of the violated base.

* * * * *

Back at the safehouse, all appeared calm.  Quatre had just finished taking care of dinner, while Duo and Trowa played a game of chess.  Or, it should be said, Trowa slaughtered Duo at a game of chess, as the braided teen seemed a tad…distracted.

This might have been due to the fact that his boyfriend and best friend were late coming back from their mission.  It also could have been the Mother of all thunderstorms that was raging outside, but it was most likely the first reason.

Abruptly, the phone rang, and as the closest Quatre picked it up in the kitchen.  There were a couple minutes of quiet conversation while the other two pilots strained to hear, before the small Arabian hung up and walked into the room, chuckling.

"Was it them?  And what's so funny?"  Duo demanded, jumping up.

"Hmm?  Oh, yes, that was the others.  And, well…" Quatre trailed off, putting a sad expression on his face.  "Well, you see…"

Duo growled, and Quatre put his hands up, smiling.  "Heero forgot to check the gas tank on the car he stole.  They ran out a few miles from here and had to walk to the nearest gas station."  He paused for dramatic effect, mirth warring with concern in his voice.  "In the rain."

The braided boy blinked, absorbing the information, then shook his head and smirked.  "Murphy strikes again.  We never do expect the simple stuff to trip us up, do we?"

"If we expected it, it would not affect us," Trowa said quietly, looking almost amused.

"My God."  Duo stared at the normally silent pilot.  "It speaks!  Will miracles never cease."

The L3 teen never had a chance to retort, as the eyes of all three pilots snapped upwards at a sudden sound that combined a high, thin whistle with a deep rumbling that shook their bones.  Their eyes widened as they took in the sight of the churning mass of darkness above them.  Something fell towards the boys, and well-honed instincts responded as Trowa grabbed Quatre around the waist and dove behind the couch.

Duo took cover behind an armchair, gun out and ready as he listened to the sound of the object hitting the floor in front of him.  Up above, the dark turbulence slowed and faded away, and he looked over the chair to see what had joined them in the room.

It wasn't what he'd expected.  Of course, he'd never heard of shadowy portals opening up in living rooms before, so he had no clue what to expect, but still…

The unconscious boy lying on the carpet wasn't it.

* * * * *

Wufei stumbled through the door, normally graceful limbs made clumsy by the cold, and silently blessed whichever gods were listening that no one had seen him except for Yuy, who was in the same shape.

That made him stop dead.  Usually, after a mission like this, either Quatre and Duo would be waiting with coffee and dry towels, and neither were in sight.

He turned to the Japanese pilot, who'd already pulled out his gun.  Yuy motioned for him to check out the living room as he moved towards the kitchen.  Taking a quick look through the doorway and seeing nothing, Wufei stepped in cautiously.

At first glance, nothing appeared out of the ordinary, but to the trained eye it was obvious something had happened.  The cushions from the couch were scattered all over the floor, and an interrupted game of chess still lay on a table nearby.

He searched through the room, making sure no one was present before reentering the hallway.  Yuy was waiting for him.

Sharing a worried look, the two were about to continue searching when a sound made them turn around.  Maxwell was standing at the head of the stairs, looking _far_ more amused than he should have been at having weapons pointed at his head.

Wufei let out an exasperated sigh as the L2 pilot bounded down the stairs and glomped Yuy.  Walking past the couple, he tucked the pistol back into his waistband.

"What happened?" he asked, gesturing towards the other room.

Maxwell grinned.  "Oh, we had a bit of excitement after you called.  This weird shadow  portal thingy opened up in our living room and a kid fell out."

"Duo," his lover reprimanded.

"What?  It's true!  He was unconscious and a bit banged up, so we moved him to the spare bedroom.  C'mon and see!"  With this, he turned and leapt back up the stairs, leaving the others to follow at their own pace.

* * * * * 

Quatre was curled up in a chair reading a book when the trio walked in.  Seeing the unspoken question on their faces, he told them that Trowa was getting some sleep for his mission the next day.

Curious, Wufei walked over to the bed and peered down at its occupant.  The boy was pale, almost too pale, and combined with his messy black hair, it made him look like a child.  "Do you know anything about him?"

"Well, the main reason he hasn't woken up yet is exhaustion, but…he wasn't in the best of shape to begin with.  There's some recent muscle and nerve damage, and it looks like he was systematically starved when he was younger.  His fingerprints haven't turned up anything in the computer, but I'd put him at about our age."  Quatre shrugged.  "No identification or anything in his pockets, so any other information will have to wait until he wakes up."

Ignoring Yuy's suspicious gaze, Wufei turned back to the unconscious boy.  Noticing something on his forehead, he reached out and brushed aside a lock of hair.

It was a scar, shaped like a lightning bolt.

* * * * *

A/N:  I know, I know, what the _hell am I doing starting another fic, what with Akuryou, Know Thyself and the rather…dormant Strains of Melody, but this hit me on the head and wouldn't leave me alone.  Not to mention I'm kinda…stuck on Akuryou's next chapter._

I can't remember what made me think of the pairing, but I've decided I like it, so there! (=P)

And I realize this is _way_ shorter than my usual chapters, but it's really more of an intro than a true chapter.

Okay, I need some help on a decision here.  Which of these sounds best, name-wise?

Raiu

Raiden

Rakurai

Shuurai

You'll probably only have this chapter to choose, unless I can stretch the second one to put that part off.  And yes, I know I'm being confusing.  It's not really intentional.


	2. An Awakening

Summary, Warnings, and Disclaimer:  Nada.  Nandemono.  Nothing.  Comprende?

* * * * *

_I woke up in a dream today_

_To the cold of a static_

_And put my cold feet on the floor_

_Forgot all about yesterday_

_Remembering I'm pretending_

_To be where I'm not anymore_

_-Linkin Park, "With You"_

* * * * *

After couple of days the Gundam pilots were still waiting for the mysterious boy to wake up.  Twice the L5 pilot had had to stop Maxwell from sneaking upstairs with a bucket of water to try to satisfy his curiosity.  

Finally, Wufei was called on a mission, a simple search-and-destroy.  An hour later he was winging it back to the safehouse, nursing a sliced arm, a souvenir left by bit of metal that had come loose inside his cockpit.

He walked up the safehouse, holding his arm as tightly as he could to slow the bleeding.  The front door was abruptly flung open in his face, and the Chinese boy blinked in surprise.  "Maxwell-"

"It's about time, Chang!  Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?!  I was supposed to be on a mission fifteen minutes ago!"  The frazzled pilot pulled him inside the house.

"The others are all on their own missions, so you'll have to watch the kid."  Nearly tripping over himself in his haste, Maxwell grabbed a duffel bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder.  "'Kay, he hasn't woken up yet, so all you have to do is sit in the room and read a book or something.  Have fun!"  With those last words he ran out the door, braid trailing along behind him.

Wufei was left blinking in the front hall, momentarily stunned, before putting his thoughts into words: "What the hell just happened?"

* * * * *

It was dark.  Peaceful.  _Safe._

It was…nice, just floating there in the darkness.

He didn't want to leave it, but he knew he would have to soon.

There was something he had to do, something important.

Slowly, reluctantly, the dreamer began to wake.

* * * * *

Juggling a medkit and a rather thick book, Wufei pushed open the door to the spare bedroom, carefully making sure his 'patient' still slumbered before he settled into the chair that had been pulled next to the bed.  He winced as the cut in his arm twinged, and contemplated swearing as it once again started to bleed sluggishly.

Instead, he opened up the medkit and pulled out disinfectant and a clean bandage, rolling up his shirtsleeve so he could get to the wound.  _Then_ he swore, as he found out it was worse than he'd thought, a good centimeter deep and eight long.

The Chinese boy grimaced as he reached back into the kit for sterile thread and a packaged needle.  This would _not be fun._

About to begin the self-appointed task of stitching himself up, Wufei instead froze as a soft rustle came from the direction of the bed.  Turning his head, startled, he saw the boy beginning to stir.

* * * * *

He was almost there, he could feel it.  Only a bit more, and he would break the surface.  Ignoring the siren call of the shadows below, the dreamer pressed on.

So close…there!

Odd, he'd forgotten what warmth felt like.  The darkness was restful, but he hadn't realized how _cold it was, not until he'd left._

He wasn't sure, but he thought he might like this better.

"You're awake."

For a second the words didn't make sense, then a part of him wanted to laugh.  _Way to state the obvious, mate.  Curious, he opened his eyes and looked towards where the voice had come from._

Something was wrong.  Everything was…blurry, as though some great artist hadn't liked his creation, and tried to rub it out.  Frowning thoughtfully, he wished the haziness would go away, and was only mildly astonished when it did.

Then, as his vision focused, he found himself gazing into a pair of surprised ebony eyes.

* * * * *

Wufei watched as the boy's eyelids flickered, leaning over the edge of the bed.  Soon, he seemed to settle down, his breathing becoming more even.

"You're awake."  He winced as he heard the words leave his mouth.  _Taking lessons from Maxwell now, are we?_

For a moment there was no reaction.  Then the boy's eyes sprang open, and left him breathless.

They weren't green.  Saying those eyes were green would be like saying Maxwell was energetic, or that Relena liked pink; the words were too plain to encompass the reality.  No, they were _emerald, glowing with an internal light that would make it so __easy to simply tumble into their depths…_

With a shudder Wufei came back to himself, as he saw a frown mar the face before him.  "What's wrong?" he asked, a bit shaken, though he kept his face expressionless.

The boy looked startled.  He opened his mouth to speak, but at first nothing came out.  "…My eyes.  They…weren't working right," he said, and the Gundam pilot was surprised to hear it come out with a British accent.  "But I've fixed it now."

Wufei blinked, this time in confusion.  _Fixed?  Then he almost hit himself over the head as he remembered what he should have been asking in the first place.  "Who are you?"_

Slowly sitting up, his patient sighed.  "To tell you the truth…" He looked at the Chinese boy intently.  "I was hoping _you could tell _me_."_

* * * * *

A/N:  Argh!  This is _not_ supposed to be this _short_!  It's just that that was too good an ending to waste.  I can't believe I couldn't even make it a thousand words, though.

If any of you are wondering at my lack of updates, it's because I've technically been banned from using a computer for anything but school work until my mid-quarter grades come in.  I'm not even supposed to be uploading this *blushes and shakes her head*  Parents have no priorities…

*looks around*  What do you know, there weren't any complaints about the 5+HP!  I guess you guys like it too.

Okay, you all have one more chappie to vote, the polls in the last chappie.

Review Responses:

Thx to: **Acesha**** Coeurl, **Blayden**, **Crysania****** Fay, ****insanechildfanfic, **ladydeath**, and ****Shino Ryu.**

**Atalante**: Thank you!  And don't worry about reviewing all of 'em, this is enough for me to know you're reading ^_^.

**gundam06serenity**: Yeah, I was kinda tired when I wrote that, so it came out weird.  Basically I'm having trouble deciding on Harry's new name, so I decided to turn to the people who can always be counted on to help with stuff like that: you readers.

And this is even worse on the shortness count…v_v

**Kitta**** Baby: *sniffs*  Really?...*bursts into tears*  I'm so happy! ^_^**

I'm working on Chapter Five right now, actually.

Thank you!

**Stargazer**:  Don't worry, I just can't see Harry as the Perfect Soldier v2.0.  And Harry will only have _one ability, both because I need a reason for the G-boys to keep him around, and because I figure his magic needs __some way to express itself._

Questions?  Comments? *looks around*  ...Anyone?  *crickets chirp*  Oh, well.  If anyone does have any, you know what to do.


	3. A Surprise

Summary, Warnings, and Disclaimer:  Alright, I don't own the Twilight Zone, though I seem to have taken up permanent mental residence there.

* * * * *

_To see what we have never seen,_

_to__ be what we have never been,_

_To shed the chrysalis and fly,_

_depart__ the earth, kiss the sky,_

_To be reborn, be someone new:_

_is__ this a dream or is it true?_

_-The Book of Counted Sorrows_

* * * * *

Wufei blinked.  "You…don't know who you are?"

The boy simply shrugged and looked around at the empty room.  "Where are we?" he asked, seemingly unconcerned by the circumstances.

"Um, Scotland, actually," Wufei replied, and frowned.  "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't."  The wandering emerald gaze finally focused back on the young pilot, and a hand lifted to rub at the scar on his forehead.  "Why would someone lie about losing their memories?"

"To penetrate our security."  The answer came smoothly and without hesitation, but only served to confuse Wufei's patient even more.  He sighed.  "We _are_ at war, you know.  Or…I guess you don't, do you?" he stated, looking at the boy's wide eyes.

"War?  But…" the boy stopped dead, staring at the still-bleeding gash in the pilot's arm.  For the first time, Wufei saw something besides bemusement in his face, as concern and horror flashed over his features.  "Merlin!  What…?"

_Merlin?_  Shaking his head, Wufei glanced down at the cut.  "I'd best stitch that up.  I was about to when you woke up.  I was about to when you woke."  He reached over and picked up the needle and thread.

"What…what are you doing?" The already enormous eyes widened even further, and the boy leaned forward.

"Stitching up my arm," Wufei replied, starting to lose patience.  "If I don't it won't heal correctly, and I'll lose efficiency in that arm."

"Stitching…isn't that when you sew yourself up?"  He turned slightly green when the L5 pilot nodded, rolling his eyes.  "But…that's horrible!"

"Well, unless you know a better way, it's the only choice," Wufei snapped, not particularly looking forward to the procedure himself without anesthetic.

He blinked again as the boy nodded and stretched out his arm, almost falling off the bed.  Too startled to move away, he watched as his patient strained, until at last the outstretched fingers touched just above the wound.

His own eyes now wide, Wufei froze as a soft, golden light radiated from the boy's hand, and felt his arm began to tingle as it spread to his own body.  A moment later the hand moved away, and he was treated to the impossible sight of unbroken skin.

"W-what…  How?" he stuttered, shocked, and looked up just in time to catch the suddenly grey-skinned enigma as he tumbled off the bed.

* * * * *

Duo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.  Was it just him, or did Deathscythe's cockpit get smaller every day?

He pushed open the front door and tossed his duffel just inside the hall.  Yawning and wondering whether any of the others were back yet, he climbed up the stairs to check on Wufei and the kid.

He supposed he'd better apologize to his friend for running out on him like that, too.  It wasn't like it would have killed him to at least stick around for a moment.  It was just that he couldn't leave a possible security risk in their safehouse, alone…which meant being late for a mission for the very first time.  While Duo might not have cared much if it was for something unimportant, like, say, _school_, but missions were another story.

Sighing again, the American pushed open the door to the new "sickroom" and was stopped by the sight that met his eyes.

Wufei was slumped in a chair next to the bed, hand clasped to his arm as he stared at its occupant.  As Duo closed the door, he started in surprise and looked up.

"Wu, you alright?"  Duo stilled, only relaxing when the other pilot nodded dazedly.  "What happened?"

It was a second before Wufei answered.  "He…woke up."

"Really?  Who is he?"

The Chinese boy shook his head, frowning at the inert body.  "He claims amnesia."

Duo's eyes widened.  "Do you believe him?"

He hesitated again.  "I probably shouldn't, but…yes."

"…Okay.  So now you can tell me why you look like someone hit you over the head with your own katana."

Wufei's hand dropped away from his arm, drawing the American's attention to what looked like unmarked skin.  "A piece up shrapnel was jarred loose inside my cockpit during my mission.  I ended up with a three-inch gash on my arm." he said, voice overly calm.  Duo frowned as the boy nodded to the motionless figure on the bed.  "I don't understand how, but…he healed me."

His audience blinked.  "Healed it.  As in…"

"As in, you can no longer tell there was ever a wound."

Duo didn't say anything for once, too deep in the Twilight Zone to even think about cracking a joke.  Instead, he sank down against the wall, sighing.

"Heero ain't gonna like this."

* * * * *

Thankfully, Quatre and Trowa were the next to return from their joint mission.  They were equally shocked by Wufei's tale, though there was a flash of sympathy on Trowa's face when the boy's amnesia was mentioned.

"So, any ideas on how the hell we keep Hee-chan from shooting the kid as a security risk?" Duo asked cynically.  "He's gonna be suspicious as soon as he hears the word 'amnesia.'"

"The boy could be useful, if he can duplicate that trick," Wufei said slowly, a hand rising to rub at his arm again.  "With his ability available, it would no longer be necessary to take a long period of time to recover from injuries."

The American perked up.  "No more getting tortured by Sally Po?  I could go for that!"  Then he frowned slightly, looking worried.  "Of course, that assumes he can do it again…"

"I'll ask him when he wakes up."  Wufei ignored the slightly astonished glances sent his way by the other three at volunteering.  "Now that's settled…"

"Not yet."  Everyone gave a collective blink as the normally-silent Trowa spoke up.  He looked at them intently, determination blazing in his single visible eye.  "He needs a name.  _No_ one should have to be Nanashi."

"You're right, we can't just keep calling him 'the boy,'" Quatre said, nodding.  "So…does anyone have any ideas?"

There was a moment of silence ass Wufei suppressed his irritation.  It was hardly _their_ right to name a complete stranger!  "Perhaps we should first inquire as to whether he would prefer to name himself?" he asked, careful to keep his tone diffident as his best friend shot him a curious look.

The others all nodded in agreement, abashed, as the Chinese boy wondered why he was so concerned about a boy he'd only known for an hour, and who had spent most of that time unconscious.

* * * * *

A/N:  Y'know, for once I have almost nothing to say.  Oh, right, now I remember.  I'm sorry, but I'm canceling the name vote thingy.  **Curlytop** sent in some better (much better!) suggestions, so I'll be using one of those instead.

Review Responses:

Thx to: **Demon Eyes Kyo, gundam06serenity, insanechildfanfic, katrina, Kitty the Black Ice Cat, Lady Phoenix Slytherin, Serpent of Light, sil, Wynjara**

**atalante****: ***winces* Sorry, it seems I am unable to write a long chapter for this thing.  But thank you!

**curlytop****:**  Thank you _so_ much!  I didn't really like any of the names I got off the translation website, so I'm really glad you volunteered some.  I actually sent you an e-mail saying thank you, but I think I forgot to mention who it was from. *blushes*

I'll probably end up going with Lubao Shi, though Xi'an is a close scond.

**Eclectic Angel:  **Thx, I'm pretty much back on now.

**Li Cruz: **Thx!  Let me guess, the other three are… "Parallel", "insperatis iter itineris", and…I'm stuck on the third one.  Though I could be wrong…

**Stargazer:** *blinks* You really think so?  Usually I'm horrible on the details.

* * * * *

I'd like to thank all of you for reviewing this woefully short-chaptered story, and would also like to express my hopes that you will continue to do so.


	4. A Naming

**_Summary, Warnings, and Disclaimer:_** Alright, the information regarding the name comes from babynames_dot_com.

* * *

_…Ever close your eyes-_  
_Ever stop and listen-  
__Ever feel alive,  
__And you've nothing missing.  
__You don't need a reason,  
__Let the day go on and on…_

_…What a day,  
__What a day to take to-  
__What a way,  
__What a way  
__To make it through-  
__What a day,  
__What a day to take to  
__A wild child…_

**_-Enya, "Wild Child"_**

**_

* * *

_**

"How long do you think it'll be before he wakes up?"

Wufei gave a start as the voice from the doorway broke the quiet. Looking up from his study of their unconscious patient, he saw Winner standing just inside the room. The light of the single small table lamp the pilot had turned on gleamed off his pale hair.

"I don't know," Wufei answered, shrugging. "It could be an hour from now, a day…" He glanced again at the boy. "At least this time it seems he's only asleep."

The Arabian nodded silently, staring at him with an odd look in his eyes.

Puzzled and just a little uncomfortable, Wufei decided to ask a question of his own. "Has Yuy checked in yet?"

"Yes. His ETA is in about three hours."

With a barely perceptible frown, the sixteen-year-old settled back into his chair, unsure whether or not he was happy to hear that bit of information. Well, at least it would be over soon, one way or the other…

Winner smiled reassuringly, and turned to leave the room, but paused a moment outside the open door. "Wufei? Please… be careful."

A few minutes after the blonde had left, Wufei gave up on trying to figure out what the blazes he meant by that statement, and curled up with a thick book to wait out the hours.

* * *

He gave the universe a mental sigh, looking around at the darkness. Really, he was coming here _far_ too often… Sure, it was nice and restful, but the décor could _really_ use some variety if he was planning on moving in permanently, as his subconscious seemed to want. 

He couldn't, though. Now that he'd remembered what warmth was, the cold just wasn't enough. Not to mention he needed to apologize to that boy for being so rude as to faint on him…

With another sigh, the dreamer again began the arduous process of waking up.

* * *

Wufei's head came up as the sheets rustled, and was rewarded with the sight of two emerald eyes peering at him from beneath a wild shock of midnight hair. His lips twitched as the boy gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. "Er… hello again. Um, sorry for…" He lifted a hand from the bed and gestured helplessly in the air. 

"Fainting?" the Chinese pilot suggested wryly.

"Well… yeah, I guess." A tinge of pink passed through that pale face. "If you want to get technical about it."

Wufei looked down, doing his best not to outright smile. "Apology accepted," he said finally, having finally gotten his face under control. "Though it isn't really necessary, since you fainted helping me."

"Oh." There was a long moment of silence as neither boy knew just what to say. Eventually, the invalid gingerly pushed himself up, until he was sitting up against the pillow. "I… hope you don't mind me asking, but… who are you?"

"Chang Wufei," the pilot said, reaching out a hand, and the amnesiac leaned forward a few inches to shake it.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir." Green eyes sparkled with mirth at the turn their stilted little conversation had taken, and Wufei finally realized just why he felt so protective of the child.

He was utterly _innocent_.

It was obvious when you really studied him. The unguarded emotions in his eyes, the uncertainty in every movement… Wufei'd been around the other pilots so long, where _nothing_ was unguarded or unplanned, even when dealing with Maxwell, that he'd almost forgotten what it was like to meet someone pure of both heart and conscience.

And, looking at those undefended pools of jade, he knew he had to do everything in his power to keep them that way. And following that train of thought…

"That… that thing you did earlier, healing me," he started abruptly, gazing urgently at the boy. "Could you do that again, if you had to?"

The boy seemed startled. "I… I think so," he said thoughtfully. "It doesn't seem all that hard, just… tiring."

Wufei nodded in relief. "Good. That could save you."

At the kid's confused and curious stare, he sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "You recall I mentioned earlier that we were at war?" The boy nodded. "I believe you when you say you have amnesia, but others… likely will not. And standard policy is to shoot security risks."

Wufei felt like kicking himself for saying it so plainly as green eyes widened until they resembled flying saucers. He raised a hand, forestalling any protests the boy might have made. "But don't worry. Yuy will be practical enough to realize you're more valuable alive and on our side, as cold as that sounds."

After a moment, the boy nodded dubiously, though he didn't appear very confident about his chances of survival. "Hey, it'll be all right. I'll protect you," the Chinese pilot offered suddenly and to his own surprise. Of course, he was mentally congratulating himself a second later when those same emerald eyes lit up happily.

"Thank you," his patient said softly, smiling at him.

With a small shrug, Wufei smiled back self-consciously. "Don't mention it." He fiddled uncharacteristically with the book in his hands for a few moments, ebon eyes fixed on its cover.

"Hey, 'Fei-…" Maxwell stopped in the doorway as he was thrown by the sight of their mystery guest awake. The pause was only momentary, though, and the American quickly recovered his momentum. Sending the boy a friendly grin, Maxwell walked over and perched on the end of his bed.

"Hey, sleepyhead. 'Bout time you woke up," he teased cheerfully. "Ya had Fei-kun over there real worried."

Wufei automatically opened his mouth to deny it, but found he couldn't. It was true, after all. Stymied, he closed his mouth again with a _snap_ and settled for glaring at his irritating friend.

Finding his lips twitching, the spectator to their little drama bent his gaze to the folded hands in his lap to hide the growing smile on his face. "I'm sorry," he apologized meekly. Both of the other boys stared at him, startled, and once he found he could control his face again, he looked back up. "The next time I decide to faint, I swear I'll tell you first," he told Wufei solemnly, face resolute.

The Chinese boy stared at him some more, wondering if he really was serious. Then he caught the faint twinkling of laughter in green eyes, and snorted humorously. "As long as you don't simply fall over," he conceded with a slight smile.

Maxwell glanced between them, his lips taking on a bemused twist. Somehow, he just _knew_ he'd missed out on something in the conversation…

Smiling softly, the dark-haired boy leaned back against his pillow. "Seriously, though," he said, fiddling with the top sheet, "I don't think that's going to happen again."

"Why not?" Wufei asked curiously.

The boy shrugged. "Well, think about it. I'd only just woken up, so I probably didn't have all that much energy to spare, and I still did… _it_, twice, before I fainted."

"Twice?" Maxwell cocked his head to the side in query.

"When I woke up, my eyesight was really blurry. I think that was the first time I did it." Wufei nodded as he remembered what the boy had said when he first woke, about there being "something wrong with his eyes."

"Interestin'… Maybe you needed glasses before, or something?" the American suggested.

The invalid nodded cautiously. "That would make sense…" He studied the two of them carefully. "If you don't mind me asking… you seem to be taking this rather… calmly. Unless this happens a lot, and I've forgotten more than I thought?"

The two pilots exchanged glances. "Well, which part did ya mean?" Maxwell finally asked. "The part with you falling out of some kind of portal in our living room, or the part where you heal people?"

The boy blinked. "Portal…?"

Maxwell snickered. "Yep. Practically fell into our laps. I'm guessin' you meant the second part, though…" He paused until their patient nodded, and shrugged. "Never heard of it happenin' before, but 'Fei says it did. And while he might have an entire tree stuck up his ass, I trust him."

Wufei's eyes narrowed, and he rose menacingly from his chair. The American _eeped_ and fled to the opposite side of the bed as the boy laughed helplessly.

The Asian stopped as his eyes fell on the laughing teen, and reluctantly he resumed his seat, though the intensity of his glare never wavered. "You'll pay for that, Maxwell," he ground out.

The other pilot simply smirked at him, safe with the bed and its occupant between them. "Sure, Wu-man. Sure."

Clutching his stomach with both hands, their third party finally managed to uncurl from his laughter-forced position. He wiped a tear from his eye, and looked over at the American. "Who… who are you, anyway?" he gasped out, short of breath.

Maxwell blinked, then flushed. "Oh, right, sorry… Duo Maxwell, at your service," he said, holding out his hand. "I run, I hide, but I never lie."

The boy smiled at him, shaking the proffered hand. "It's nice to meet you," he said politely. Then his face fell. "I'm sorry I can't tell you my name…"

The braided boy sat up straight. "Hey, that's right!" He looked over at Wufei. "We forgot about the name thing."

Their patient stared at him curiously. "Name thing?"

Maxwell nodded. "Well, yeah. I mean, we can't just keep calling ya Kid or somethin'."

"Oh…" The other boy looked thoughtful.

"Is there a name you prefer? Or anything that sounds familiar?" Wufei asked him quietly.

The boy shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing… And I can't think of anything I'd want."

"We'll just have to think of somethin' for ya, then," Maxwell stated with a sympathetic grin. After a moment of studying the boy, he frowned, and glanced over at Wufei. "Anything comin' to mind?" he asked, _sotto voce_. Which was actually rather pointless since the only other person in the room was situated between them.

The Chinese teenager frowned as well, albeit more thoughtfully, as he gazed into the twin pools of emerald light that had turned towards him. Even as they pulled him in, he wondered why the hell Maxwell was asking _him_. He wasn't exactly the most original or imaginative of their team, after all.

Then it came to him, in a flash of inspiration nearly as stunning as the eyes before him. "_Yu Jie_…" he murmured softly, the looked away as he heard a quiet choke.

Maxwell was staring at him in surprise, though that quickly faded, turning into the same odd expression that had graced Winner's face earlier as he glanced between them. Wufei flushed as he recalled the American knew at least some Chinese.

"Well," the braided boy said abruptly as he stared at their guest, "I'll admit the color fits…"

"What do you mean?" the amnesiac asked curiously, looking back and forth between them.

"Yu Jie means… jade," Wufei extemporized, still blushing.

"Oh…" The boy still didn't seem to understand, though.

"It's your eyes, kiddo," Maxwell said, taking pity on his comrade. The strange look was nearly gone from his face, though a speculative gleam still lurked in his eyes. "They're green."

"_Oh_…" This time the word was imbued with a far greater sense of comprehension, though that was ruined a mere second later. "They are?"

"Yeah. They are." The American shook his head gloomily. "Damn, you don't even remember what ya _look_ like… All right, that settles it." He nodded decisively, stepping around the bed.

"Maxwell?" Wufei asked, wondering what the hell he was doing now.

The teenager frowned at him. "You'd better go get something to eat, 'Fei. From what Q said, ya haven't eaten in a while."

Reluctantly, the Chinese boy nodded. "All right, but…" He trailed off inquiringly as he rose from his chair.

Maxwell's frown changed to a grin as he pushed his friend out the door. "Don't worry so much, Wu'. I'm just gonna go get Jie-chan a mirror. Kid deserves to know what he looks like, at least…"

Reassured, Wufei finally nodded and started walking down the hallway under his own power. Behind him, the American slipped into the bathroom and out again, carrying a hand mirror, before vanishing into the sickroom.

As he went down the stairs, Wufei remembered the name that had slipped out of his mouth, and the blush that had almost faded again reared its head. It was lucky he'd managed to think of a different meaning for the name, especially one that was technically true. Even if it wasn't _all_ the truth.

After all, he wasn't sure just what the reaction would be if Yu Jie found out Wufei had named him _beautiful_ jade…

* * *

A/N: _Life! Give my creation LIFE!!!_ /thunder booms, and a frenzied dance of lightning flashes across the sky/ **_LIVE, DAMN YOU!!!_** /there is another flash of lightning, much closer to the audience/ … /…/ …_cough, cough_… Damn it, that was _too_ close… _Mommy_… 

/brushes the char from her clothing/ Anyway, _it lives!!!_ Praise the Lord and Hallelujah! /stops and blinks/ Okay, praise the muses and the sudden cessation of writer's block instead, if you prefer. I'm utterly amazed at how quickly this came out… most of it, anyway. As I told **Akua** in my post of a couple days ago, I've had some of this hanging around forever, I just couldn't finish it. But back then, I had around 850 words of story written, and only had a couple hundred to go to match the other chapters. Then I had a burst of inspiration, and started typing. This chapter is now the proud guardian of over 2,100 words of actual story, which is very nearly the rest of the story put together. I'll admit, I was tempted to try and cut it off to match the other chapters better, but then I decided that after that incredibly long wait, you deserved all of it.

And as for the reasons for that long wait… There were a couple. First would be the first true flame I had ever received for _any_ story, which kinda… threw me off. _Don't_ anyone blame **insanechildfanfic**, though, because it wasn't her fault. It was her brother who posted the flame (and again, I recommend a good leash if he's going to be reading any more stories). The second reason would be the whole 'name' fiasco. I was focusing _far_ too much on that, and as a result nearly painted myself into a corner. To jump start the writing process again, I decided to forget everything I had decided on that matter and go in a new direction (my apologies for wasting all your hard work, **curlytop**but it was the only thing I could think of!).

And now that all that's over with… on to the many review responses.

* * *

**_Review Responses_**

* * *

_Our thanks to:_ **atalante**, **CrazyBlueKitty**, **crazy-lil-nae-nae**, **Drusilla**, **gatogirl1**, **kit kat**, **lilmatchgirl007**, **Maxennce**, **Mikito**, **Mithros**, **OOMaxwellDemonOo**, **Sierra-Falls**, **Skeren Dreamera**, **Stormyronin**, and **VB**.

**curlytop**: /bows/ Again, I apologize for throwing away all your hard work like that… I didn't want to, I just couldn't see any other way of giving myself a kick in the pants besides the literal. Which is rather hard to do…

As for the questions… All appearances to the contrary aside, this isn't a Superpower!Harry, merely a Power!Harry. He'll still be able to do accidental magic, since that's fueled by emotion, but all learned spells are temporarily gone.

**damnationsalvation**: And that's what I ended up doing…

**Honor**: I think I remember reading one other Harry/Wufei… I might have just been dreaming, though, cuz I can't even remember what site it was on.

**Kitty the Black Ice Cat**: /cringes/ NO! Not the tickling!

**Serpent of Light**: Nanashi actually means 'no name'. Among other things, it's an insult in some cultures not to have a name; it was also the name Trowa was called while growing up with mercenaries.

* * *

I apologize profusely for the extremely protracted lapse in my typing skills, but pray the gift of this chapter will at least blunt the force of your wrath… In other words, enjoy, and please don't hang me…

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30 November 2004


	5. A Confrontation

_Summary, Warnings, and Disclaimer_: Um, a teeny tiny bit of Heero-bastardization… I like the guy, but I needed him to be just a bit of an arsehole for this chapter. Don't worry, it goes away quick… However, I'm afraid the Relena-bashing is here to stay...

* * *

_…Fall on real life,_

_Is anybody left there sane?_

_If we slide on over, and accept Fate,_

_Then it's bound to be a powerful thing…_

**_-Matchbox-20, "Black & White People"

* * *

_**

"I think you've made a friend," Duo said with a knowing grin, staring after the Chinese boy. 

"Do you really think so?" Yu asked him, his green eyes hopeful. Duo looked at him, wondering if he really was as innocent as he seemed, but found nothing to prove it false in his face.

"Yeah," he finally replied, with a quiet laugh. "I think so. In fact, I don't think ya even need to worry 'bout it…"

The boy smiled. "I'm glad," he said simply. "I don't know him very well yet, but I don't think I could find a better friend."

Duo nodded in agreement, for once absolutely serious. "No, I don't think you could…"

* * *

"-He asked if we had any ideas for his name, and my suggestion was Yu Jie. He chose that one, and then Maxwell chased me out to get something to eat," Wufei finished, spreading mayonnaise over the slice of bread in his hand. 

Beside him, Barton made no comment, though whether that was because he didn't know Chinese or because he was simply being his usual close-mouthed self was undetermined. Whichever it was, the pilot was grateful for it, as well as the unibanged teenager's help in making the plate of sandwiches that now sat on the counter.

Sighing, Wufei put the finished sandwich on the plate and picked up the entire thing. He was about to head upstairs with it, when from outside came the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the drive. His eyes went wide, and he turned his head to look at the clock on the wall.

"Yuy's early!" he hissed, scowling at the time. "He wasn't supposed to get here for another hour!"

"Something must have gone right, for once," Barton commented wryly. "Relax, Chang. He's isn't going to just shot the boy."

Wufei grimaced, walking towards the stairs. "I wish I had your confidence… Grab Winner and fill him and Yuy in on what's happened. I'll be upstairs."

The other pilot's lips quirked at that, but again he said nothing. The Chinese boy didn't particularly care if he was thought to be a coward in this instance, though, if it got him out of having to explain things to Heero Yuy.

He heard the front door open and close as he made his way up the stairs, and the quiet sound of voices as he reached the door to the guestroom. Both Maxwell and Yu Jie looked up as he entered, balancing the plate of sandwiches precariously with one hand as the other closed the door behind him.

"Your boyfriend's here," he told the braided boy shortly, setting the plate down on the bed. "Barton and Winner are getting him up to speed."

The American grinned. "Gotcha." He bounced up out of the chair by the bed, sending a grin to the boy still lying in it. "Don't worry, Jie-kun, we won't let anything bad happen to ya." And with that, he was out the door.

The green-eyed boy stared after him for a few seconds. "He's almost… scary, sometimes," he finally offered.

Wufei snorted. "Tell me about it. _No one_ should have that much energy…" He sat in the chair Maxwell had just evacuated and gestured towards the sandwiches. "You have time for a few bites before Yuy gets here."

Yu nodded, reaching out and pulling the plate closer to him. He grabbed a sandwich in each hand and offered one to Wufei, who took it with a nod of gratitude. They ate together in silence for a few minutes, until they heard feet coming up the stairs. "Are you ready?" Wufei asked the other boy with a worried frown.

"Not really…" he answered truthfully. "I don't suppose we could put this off for a couple hours? Or a couple days?"

The pilot chuckled. "Don't I wish." The door creaked open, and the last four teenage terrorists walked in. Maxwell plopped down on the edge of the bed, while Barton set up station against one of the walls. Winner joined him, giving Yu an amiable smile.

Yuy walked up to the bed and glared at its occupant. "Who are you, and why are you here?" he demanded curtly.

Instinctively Wufei started to rise, and paused when Yu shook his head and sent him a tiny smile. "I don't know," the dark-haired boy said frankly. "If I knew I would tell you, I promise." He stared into Yuy's eyes, not in a challenge, but not meekly, either.

Yuy grunted. "And you expect me to believe that?"

The boy shrugged his thin shoulders. "I can't _expect_ you to believe anything. All I can do is tell you the truth and hope that you accept it."

* * *

Heero frowned, staring at the enigma in the bed. Damn it, but he _hated_ mysteries, almost as much as he hated surprises, and the boy he was looking at was both. He glanced at Quatre with a silent question, and received a quick nod in answer as the blonde pressed a hand over his heart. He got the same answer from Duo when he looked at him, and let his muscles relax slightly. 

If Quatre, with his space heart, and his lover, who was the best judge of character Heero had ever known, thought the boy was telling the truth… then who was he to nay say them?

However, amnesiac or not, the intruder was still a civilian. The Perfect Soldier was tempted to shoot him anyway, just to simplify things… But, going from the expressions on Duo and Wufei's faces, he'd have to go through them first. Which was not a pleasant prospect.

"Fine," he finally said, taking a step back. "We'll drop him at the nearest hospital tomorrow."

Everyone in the room blinked, and the boy in the bed looked startled, and Heero realized none of them had thought of what seemed to him to be the logical course of action. "That… might not be the best idea," Wufei said slowly, glancing at the invalid.

"And why not?" Heero asked skeptically. Chang had better not just be following his hormones…

Wufei didn't answer him directly. "Did you tell him everything that happened?" he asked Winner, and the Arabian nodded.

"You don't mean that ridiculous story about 'magical' healing, do you?" Heero still couldn't believe they'd tried to make up something so utterly absurd as that to try and keep him from killing the boy. He wasn't so obsessive as to murder a child in cold blood, all impulses to the contrary. Just annoying bitches like Relena...

Of course, Duo had interfered with that one too, but he'd forgiven the braided boy a long time ago. After all, he hadn't learned yet how much she deserved a bullet between the eyes…

"Unlikely, not ridiculous," Wufei stated flatly. "Not to mention completely true."

Heero snorted. "Magic isn't real, Chang. You're too old to believe in fairy tales."

The Chinese boy reddened. "I never said it was magic, Yuy, just that it _happened_. Are you doubting my word?"

Even the Perfect Soldier knew when to back off. "Fine. Prove it," he challenged, not expecting him to be able to.

Wufei nodded. "Maxwell? Hand me one of your knives." Puzzled, Duo complied, pulling one of his myriad blades from a place each of the room's occupants would have sworn couldn't possibly hide any weapons.

The pilot took it with a nod of thanks as everyone, including the boy he was trying to protect, watching in perplexed curiosity. Then the room erupted in shouts as he deliberately drew the blade across his hand.

"Are you bloody _insane_?!" The stranger's irate voice easily drowned out those of the others. "What in Morgana's hells do you thinking you're _doing_?" He leaned forward and grabbed Wufei's hand, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

"Giving you a chance to prove it," he answered evenly, a slight wince the only outward sign of the pain he had to be feeling.

The boy stared at him for a moment, emerald eyes disbelieving. Finally he shook his head. "You great, bloody_idiot_…" he murmured. The room fell silent as he looked down at the hand he cradled in his own.

For a few seconds nothing happened, as the boy's forehead crinkled in a frown of concentration, and Heero almost felt vindicated. Then he, and everyone else, gasped as they saw the air around his hands shimmer as they began to glow with a bright, golden light. The gold spread to Wufei's wounded hand, and slowly, the cut sealed itself.

There was silence in the room for a long time, even after the light had dimmed, and vanished.

* * *

A/N: /sighs/ Short, short, short… still longer than the first three, though. I suppose I should be grateful for what I can get… 

Alright, from this point on I'm going to stop writing out review responses, not only because it's 'against the rules of ffnet', but because it just takes too damn _long_. Anyone who has a question can email me at koukenninkaze_at_yahoo_dot_com, or try and contact me on AIM. My name is aetas lupus. That doesn't mean I won't thank you at the end of the chapter, though, or that I don't want you to keep reviewing. I hope you all understand.

* * *

_Our thanks to_: **Akua** (/grins/ Thanks! I'll probably take you up on that…), **anna may**, **Annikaya**, **Drusilla**, **E.A.V.,** **Firehedgehog**, **LassyD**, **Laughing Cat**, **lilmatchgirl007**, **MaraWeaves**, **Mithros**, **NinkaChild**, **Serpent of Light**, **Sinless Chocolate** (Don't worry- first review or not, that was wonderful), **Squrlie Jack**, **Von**, and **Wren Truesong**.

* * *

Oh, and I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, and a great New Years, in case I don't get anything else out in time.

* * *

**24 December 2004**


	6. A Verdict

_Warnings and Disclaimer_: Um… just why do I put this thing up here, anyway?

* * *

_You and me  
__Meant to be  
__Immutable  
__Impossible  
__It's destiny…_

_-**Smashing Pumpkins**, "Stand Inside Your Love"

* * *

_

By unspoken agreement, none of the pilots spoke until they'd reached the kitchen. Wufei, the least affected by Yu's demonstration, moved to the cupboards and began to make hot cocoa as the others sat around the kitchen table.

"All right," the Perfect Soldier finally said, voice low. "He can stay. But _you_ will be the one babysitting him," he stated pointedly, not quite glaring at Wufei.

The Chinese youth simply nodded, accepting that, since truthfully he hadn't planned on letting the boy out of his sight anyway. ''Of course." Duo and Quatre shared a conspiratorial glance and smile at his matter-of-fact tone.

"Have there been any matches on his fingerprints?" Trowa asked quietly.

Quatre shook his head. "None whatsoever. It's as though he just dropped from the sky." He blinked. "Which is precisely what he did, but..."

Heero frowned. "There has to be _some_ record of him, somewhere."

"Not necessarily," Duo said thoughtfully, accepting a mug of hot cocoa from Wufei. "I mean, _I _didn't have any records till I got taken off the streets."

"Are you saying he might be from the streets?" Wufei asked with a frown, distributing the rest of the mugs around the table and sitting in an empty chair.

The American considered that for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah. Amnesia or not, there's a certain... attitude ya get, and he doesn't have that."

There was silence again for a few minutes. "Well, at least now that he's awake we can run his retinas through the computer, see if _that_ turns up anything," Duo ventured, sipping at his drink.

Wufei nodded, getting up and putting his empty mug in the sink. Then, on second thought he grabbed a clean mug and filled it with the last of the cocoa. "I need to go check on him anyway. I'll see if I can get a retinal scan."

Duo smirked, but at a look from the other pilot wisely kept his mouth shut. Wufei gave him a satisfied nod, and made his escape to the stairs.

Once he was gone, Duo and Quatre took one look at each other and burst out into giggles. The last two teenagers both sighed, staring wearily at their respective, nearly hysterical boyfriends.

)-(-)-(

Upstairs, standing inside Yu Jie's sickroom, Wufei was about ready to indulge in some hysteria himself. It wasn't as though the momentary weakness would damage his reputation- after all, there was no one here to see. And that was exactly the problem.

The room was _empty_.

Cursing under his breath, the teenager took another quick look about the room and then turned to dash back downstairs. Damn it, he'd thought he could _trust_ the boy...!

Then he heard the sound of the toilet flushing from down the hall, and flushed a little himself, feeling like an utter heel. Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? The boy'd been lying in a bed for three days, after all...

A door opened and closed, and Yu Jie appeared in the doorway, grasping the doorjamb with a white-knuckled hand to hold himself up. "You shouldn't be out of bed," Wufei said sternly, putting the mug of hot cocoa down on the nightstand and then moving forward and wrapping an arm around his waist. He spared a moment of thought for the sheer hypocrisy of that remark, given that _none_ of the Gundam pilots were what any sane person would call good patients, then helped the youth back over to the bed.

Yu sagged gratefully down onto the covers. "Yes, well, did you particularly _want_ to help me with that?" He laughed quietly at Wufei's grimace. "Exactly." The boy stared down at his lap for a moment. "I wanted to take a shower, too, but..." He held up a trembling hand with a shrug.

The pilot smiled. "Don't worry, if you can't then we _will_ help. Even if it just turns out to be a sponge bath." He chuckled as Yu Jie wrinkled his nose at that thought.

"Sometime soon, though," the boy stated firmly. "I stink!"

Wufei laughed outright this time. Then he remembered the mug sitting on the nightstand, and stepped over to grab it. "Here," he said, handing it to the youth as he settled onto the bed.

Yu blinked at it, then took a cautious sip of the now merely warm cocoa. Instantly his face broke out into a grin, and he impulsively reached over and hugged a surprised pilot. "Chocolate cures all," he claimed happily.

Wufei took a second to recover from the hug, then smirked. "That's what Maxwell claims."

"Chocolate and a hot shower," the American chirped from the doorway, and the two teenagers both jumped. "There's _nothing _in the world that can't be fixed with either or both. Preferably both," he added, stepping inside.

"Duo," Yu acknowledged with a fond smile.

"Hey, Jie-chan." Duo turned around the chair by the bed and flopped down in it, crossing his arms on the backrest and resting his chin on them.

"Have any of the others come out of shock yet?" Wufei asked, his dark eyes uncommonly mischievous.

The braided boy smirked. "Quatre's handlin' it just fine, Heero probably won't come out of it for several days… and who the hell can tell with Tro'?" he asked with an ambiguous shrug.

"Er, who...?" Yu Jie asked, cocking his head quizzically.

"Oh, right! We never introduced you to the others!" Duo leaned back in his chair. "Okay, the little blonde was Quatre, who's the _nicest_ person you'll ever meet, and then the guy with the gravity-defying bangs was his boyfriend Trowa. And last of all, the mean bastard who was interrogating you was _my_ boyfriend, Heero, and whom I will take _great_ pleasure in making fun of after today," he finished with a short bow.

Wufei watched closely to see what Yu's reaction to _that_ little announcement would be. He hadn't even realized he was holding his breath until he let it out in a sigh of relief when the boy merely seemed startled. He glanced away from him, trying to hide that relief, and found Duo watching him with a look of pure amusement on his impish face. "You are _so_ hopeless," the American told him in Japanese.

The martial artist glared at his friend. "Urusei..."

Duo gave him a superior smirk and glanced back at an increasingly confused Yu. "Sorry 'bout that. We've sorta gotten into the habit of dropping into other languages without meaning to."

The boy nodded. "What language was that?"

"Japanese." Duo fidgeted for a moment. "So, has 'Fei brought up the retina scan yet?"

Yu shook his head. "The conversation hadn't gotten that far yet, since a certain _person_ decided to get up without someone to watch him," the Chinese teenager explained, looking pointedly at the dark-haired boy, who blushed.

"Oh, you mean like you did after you had that concussion last month?" Duo asked innocently, violet eyes gleaming, and the pilot scowled at him.

Yu Jie blinked at Wufei. "…Concussion? Do you _always_ get hurt like this?" he asked worriedly, his green eyes crinkling at the corners.

Wufei shook his head. "Usually it's me or Hee-chan gettin' hurt, actually," Duo chimed in with a smirk. "Wu-man's just had bad luck lately."

The L5 pilot sighed. "_Why_ do you insist on calling me that ridiculous name?"

"Because it's fun," Duo answered sweetly, winking at Yu Jie, who giggled.

Wufei simply rolled his eyes with an air of long suffering. "And if we could get back to the retina scan?" he gritted out.

"Sure, 'Fei, we were just waiting for _you_."

Instinctively, his hand reached for the katana he normally kept at his side but came up with empty, and Wufei grimaced as he remembered it was lying on his bed, in his room across the hall. "Why me?" he muttered crossly.

Then he felt a hand pat him reassuringly on the arm, and he looked up to see sympathetic emerald eyes watching him. "Retina scan?" Yu Jie prompted, tilting his head inquisitively to the side.

Wufei nodded, smiling at the boy. "We haven't found any matches on your fingerprints, so we thought perhaps a retina scan might show better results."

"Oh…" Yu considered that for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay… if it helps."

Duo immediately bounced up. "Great! I'll go get the camera!" Then he was out the door, a figurative trail of dust rising in his wake.

Laughing quietly, Yu shook his head. "Does he make you feel old, too?" he asked playfully.

"Only when my arthritis kicks in," Wufei answered with a straight face. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then both started to laugh.

Within a couple of minutes Duo had returned with the camera, and they quickly took a picture of Yu's eyes. The Chinese pilot noted curiously the way the boy instinctively flinched as the camera went off, as though he was more used to old-fashioned flash cameras than to modern digital ones.

After that, though, Yu confessed to feeling tired again. Duo quickly left, promising to tell him in the morning if there were any results from the identity search. Then Wufei grabbed the book still lying abandoned on a dresser and settled into the recently vacated chair.

"You don't have to stay," Yu murmured sleepily into his pillow, one drowsy eye watching the other youth.

Wufei looked up from the book. "I want to," he replied after a moment, only a little surprised at how much he meant it.

The boy smiled contentedly at that, and then drifted off into sleep.

* * *

A/N: Hmm… not much to say, really. I suppose I should have warned you all in the beginning that this story would be off to a really slow start- nothing much really _happens_ until quite a few chapters in. It's mostly character/world/plot development. 

And I'm glad you all liked the name-beams-

Our most sincere thanks to **atalante** (don't worry, every little bit is appreciated), **BalrogsBreath** (-chuckles- Nothing to do with the final battle, though it does have to do with Death Eaters), **E.A.V.**, **Fate**, **insanechildfanfic**, **jah**, **Laughing Cat** (-can't stop laughing-), **LassyD** (-grins- Yes, I have read _Mort_. I was reading it at the same time as _Sourcery_, actually… -sweatdrops- Don't ask. And I've been considering writing a GW/_Mort_, with Duo taking Mort's place...), **lilmatchgirl007**, **MaraWeaves**, **Mithros**, **Ox King**, **Shinigami's**** Shadow** (-blinks- Er, yes, very protective. Veryveryveryveryvery…), **silverkitkat**, and **Squrlie**** Jack** for reviewing.

* * *

1 February 2005


	7. An Interruption

**Warnings and Disclaimers:** Uh… warnings for bad internal analyses…

* * *

Hours passed, and then days. The search using Yu Jie's retinas produced about as many results as had the one with his fingerprints: zero, zip, nada, and, you guessed it, nothing whatsoever. 

The condition of the boy himself improved. Though moving on his own for too long still tired him out, he was able to do most things for himself, even if he needed someone to lean on when he went from room to room. Wufei had forbidden him from even _thinking_ about attempting the stairs down to the first floor.

As a result, the green-eyed boy was about ready to go stir-crazy. Wufei lent him some of his books to try and stave it off, and Duo volunteered his music collection, but all their efforts could do nothing but delay the inevitable.

When Wufei poked his head in the door of what had once been the guest bedroom, a tray with dinner for two in one hand, he found Yu Jie lying on his bed listening to one of the American's cds, silently mouthing the words to the music. The boy looked up as he entered and smiled, before reaching out to turn down the stereo.

"What song was that?" the pilot asked as he set the tray down on the bed, then dragged over his usual chair. "I didn't recognize it."

"Duo said it was a classic, from the late twentieth century," Yu answered. "By a group called Pink Floyd. They're strange songs, but..."

"But?" Wufei asked when it looked like his friend wasn't going to continue any further.

Yu shrugged. "They seem familiar. And sometimes I know some of the words." He sat up, crossing his legs under him. "Trowa says I have selective amnesia. I remember some things, like the old songs, but none of the new ones. And I know some history, but you should have seen Quatre's face when I told him I didn't know what the colonies were."

Wufei handed him a plate, and the boy smiled gratefully. "Are there really colonies like that? Out in space, I mean?" he asked, looking up at the Asian teenager after taking a bite.

The pilot nodded. "My ancestral home was in the L5 cluster."

Yu Jie set down his fork with a puzzled frown. "Was?"

Wufei didn't flinch, though it was a close thing. "It is no longer there," was all he said, a long minute later, as he stared down at his own plate.

But even unsaid, the boy seemed to sense his pain. Yu Jie studied the bent head intently, emerald eyes sad. "War..." he said quietly, as though only just beginning to understand what the word meant, and Wufei nodded silently.

"Is that why you fight? Revenge?"

"No!" the martial artist said with some heat in his voice, his head snapping up. But the ire rising within him stuttered to a halt as he met Yu Jie's luminous eyes, eyes that held no judgment, no condemnation, but only a question. "No," he said again, more softly. "A little, at first, when it was still... fresh. But now..."

The boy bowed his head. "You don't want anything like it to happen again," he murmured.

Wufei nodded. "I can't let it. And that means that the system that it happened under _must_ be changed, or it will keep on happening. It's already happened too many times." He poked at the food on his plate, not sure his appetite was still entirely there.

Scritching noises from the direction of the bed indicated that Yu Jie was doing something similar with his own utensil. "Maybe," he started, then had to stop and start again, "Maybe it's a good thing I don't remember anything, if that's the kind of thing there is to remember."

There was a soft 'smack!' and a surprised yelp, and Yu Jie was rubbing the back of his head while staring incredulously at a glaring Wufei. "_Don't _say that," the Chinese teenager ground out, scowling. "You _will_ remember who you are, understood? You deserve nothing less."

Yu Jie stared at him for a minute more, then ducked his head with a rueful smile. "Yes, sir," he replied, with a rather sloppy salute.

Wufei snorted, though he couldn't stop his lips from quirking. "You 'sir' Yuy, not me. Now eat before your food gets cold. And you probably want to eat fast, too."

"Why?" Yu asked, picking up his fork obediently.

The pilot smirked, deliberately taking a bite, chewing and swallowing before answering. "Well," he finally answered, making his voice as nonchalant as he could, "our combined medical opinions all agree that, as long as you don't strain yourself, you're well on the road to recovery. So we thought you might like to join us downstairs for a couple of movies in the living room."

The smirk turned into a genuine smile that Wufei had to hide by turning his face back to his plate, as Yu Jie's face suddenly glowed with pleasure and anticipation.

-

They took a step together, then another. Wufei's arm was wrapped around Yu's waist, while the British boy kept one hand on the railing and the other on the pilot's shoulder. Barton stood at the bottom of the stairs, ready to catch one or both of them if either stumbled.

Finally, though, they reached the bottom landing with no mishaps. Wufei reluctantly unwound his arm under the European teenager's amused, one-eyed stare, though he kept a hand at the still-weak boy's elbow, just in case. He led Yu into the living room, where they were greeted with playful applause.

Maxwell bounced up off the couch, still clapping. "Well, whaddaya know, they made it!"

Yu Jie blew him a raspberry as the two of them helped him over to the vacated sofa. "Oh, shut up... I still say I could have done this earlier."

"Maybe, maybe not," the tiny blonde chimed in from his commandeered loveseat across the room. "But it's better to be safe than sorry. Remember, if you try to do too much you'll just end up stuck in that room for even longer."

Yu grimaced, but Wufei knew he was too happy to be even temporarily out of his cage to argue any further. Instead, he shifted until he was comfortably ensconced in the corner formed by the back and the arm of the couch. "Alright, I won't do anything," he muttered with a sigh. Then he grinned at them. "I'll just stay here and let all of you do the work."

Maxwell laughed. "Now that's the spirit!" He leaned up against the back of the couch, arms folded. "Hee-chan should be back with the movies soon. I told him to rent a couple comedies, but he'll probably grab an action movie or two to go with 'em. I hope ya don't mind."

Yu Jie smiled and shook his head. "Not at all."

The American grinned, before the grin faded and he glanced at Wufei with a frown. "I'm forgettin' something, I just know it..."

The pilot shrugged after a moment of thought, and his best friend's frown deepened. "Damn it, what is it..." Then he brightened. "Right! Popcorn!" Turning, he dashed off into the kitchen, presumably to toss a bag into the microwave.

"You know, I think I'm actually getting used to him," Yu commented quietly, twisting around to look up at Wufei.

His lips quirked. "God forbid."

Winner smiled as the other boy giggled. "You'd best make sure he doesn't forget drinks, either," the Arabian suggested.

Wufei nodded and, following a sudden whim, reached out and tousled Yu's unruly hair. He grinned when the boy yelped in protest, before turning and walking into the kitchen as sounds at the front door announced Yuy's arrival with the evening's entertainment.

-

Winner's cell phone beeped about halfway through the first movie, summoning him for a mission. His departure dampened the mood for a time, but slowly the evening had recovered.

By the time the third movie was winding up, they were all relaxing around the TV screen. Wufei wasn't sure just when Yu had slipped until he was curled against his side, though he suspected it had been during one of those scenes where they were laughing too hard to think straight. He didn't mind at all, though. Despite the occasional elbow digging into his side, he'd never felt so comfortable in his life.

Maxwell was right. He _was_ hopeless.

Wufei glanced at Yu Jie, who was beginning to blink sleepily as he leaned against the martial artist's arm. The boy showed no sign that he realized just how much Wufei's life was beginning to revolve around him. Yes, the war was still going on; the five pilots still fought, still killed and bled. He wouldn't give up fighting until it was over, one way or the other, and he knew the others wouldn't, either.

But… for the first time in a long while, the war wasn't the thing foremost on his mind. It wasn't the be-all and end-all of his life, anymore.

He didn't know what Yu Jie was- nothing normal healed like that, or appeared from nothing via means of mysterious portals- but whatever he was, he'd reminded Wufei there was more to life than merely surviving. Hell, he'd smiled and laughed more in the last few days than he had since…

Wufei tried to remember for a minute, but finally gave up. He'd always been more likely to frown than smile, anyway. Or at least, lose his temper.

It was remarkably hard to get more than annoyed with anything while Yu Jie was around. He'd even started to do nothing more than glare whenever Maxwell called him idiotic nicknames.

Yu yawned and tore his eyes from the screen as the credits began to roll to glance around at the other teenagers. "What time is it?" he asked blearily.

Barton glanced at his watch as Yuy reached for the remote. "Not quite an hour after midnight," he answered quietly. "We'd best get to bed."

They all nodded, and Wufei had just risen to help the British boy up when _all_ of their phones beeped. Maxwell was the first to get his out, and his face turned grim as he read the line of text scrolling across the screen. "It's from Q," he said, turning towards the stairs.

"He says to evacuate. Now."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know I'm evil. I take great pride in it. 

Oh, and regarding the retina scan… That will be a plot point in the future.

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_Our most sincere gratitude to_ **A lilmatchgirl** (This is starting off during what _would_ be the summer after Harry's fourth year. So, fifteen.), **Catzi**, **chereFREAK014**, **Crysania** **Fay** (Eventually, yes, but not before a lot happens), **Fate**, **fearthewrathofra** (grins), **Firehedgehog**, **Herald-Mage Brianna** (How he reacts will be sort of important, later on), **Inanna**, **insanechildfanfic**, **jah** (nods Not Reducto, but close. It's going to be… important. Emphasis on the 'sweet and inncoent' and irony… Though, that is a _very_ nice mental picture of Duo. grins), **james**, **katrina**, **Lady Cinnabar** (whimpers Yes'm… And yes, someone will come looking for him), **LassyD** (hugs), **Laughing Cat** (rubs her aching ears Well, you're close on the retina scan bit…), **Maxennce**, **Megami101**, **Mithros** (Yep, angst time when that happens…), **Mokey****beeb**, **momocolady**, **MorganEddasil**, **Nerb**, **Persephone** (beams), **Shinigami's**** Shadow** (evil grin), **silverkitkat**, **Squrlie**** Jack**, **Staryday** (Well, if I manage to keep with this long enough it _will_ eventually lead to the wizarding world… but a lot while happen here, first), **Toki Mirage**, _and_ **Wren Truesong** (laughs) _for reviewing.

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_

10 May 2005


	8. An Apprehension

**Warnings and Disclaimers: **I'm intentionally skewing Scotland's geography; after all, it's a couple centuries in the future. Can't still be a national preserve if the nation's been dissolved…

* * *

Wufei ordered Yu to stay right where he was, then raced up the stairs to throw together a couple of travel bags for the two of them. Thankfully, the pilots always traveled as light as they could, so there wasn't much to put together beyond clothing, weapons, and a few medical supplies. About to leave the room, an afterthought struck him, and he dashed back to grab Maxwell's music. The braided boy could always just burn himself more cds, but he would be grateful that the effort had been made.

He met up with the American on the way back down the stairs, who had a couple bags of his own slung over his slender shoulders. Yuy seemed to have been taking care of everything downstairs, beneath the wide eyes of the pale-faced young boy on the couch, while Barton was undoubtedly still upstairs taking care of his and Winner's things.

Wufei brushed Yu's shoulder with a reassuring hand as he rushed through the living room and out the front door. The vehicle of choice for this mission happened to be a nondescript minivan, and he opened up the back and tossed the bags inside. The other three pilots came out as he was going back inside, carrying the rest of their luggage.

There was just one more thing. Yu started to ask him a question, but stopped when the Chinese teenager shook his head and held out his arms. "Later, once we're safe. It'll be easier if I carry you out."

To his credit, he didn't argue, simply nodding and sliding himself to the edge of the couch. Wufei slipped one arm behind Yu's back and the other beneath his knees; with a quick shifting of his weight, he was holding the slender boy to his chest. "You need to eat more," he told him, blinking in surprise at just how little his friend weighed.

Yu blushed, looking away. "I'm sorry..."

Wufei sighed. "Don't make me hit you again. It's not your fault. You were already half-starved when we found you. Six days isn't nearly long enough to make a difference." He carefully maneuvered the recumbent boy through the doorway. Maxwell was waiting in the darkness outside the door, and as soon as they'd passed he shut the door and locked it. Then the braided boy hurried ahead of them to open the van's door so Wufei could slide his burden inside until he was supported by Barton on the other side.

The pilot clambered in after him as Maxwell slipped into the passenger seat. "We're supposed to meet Q at the gundams," the American told his lover, who was just settling himself behind the wheel. "And then fly on out."

Yuy grimaced, but managed to keep his instinctive glance backwards to a mere flick of the eyes. That meant revealing the gundams to the newest member of their party. Not that they would mean anything to the amnesiac- the pilots had already established that mobile suits weren't among what little Yu Jie recalled- but even so, it went against the grain. "Did he say anything else?" he asked, turning over the engine.

Maxwell shook his head. "The message just said 'Enemy aware. Evacuate now, rendezvous base of operations'."

In the back seat, Wufei listened to the terse conversation as he finished buckling himself and Yu in. The British boy was silent, but his hands, clenched together in his lap so tightly his knuckles were white, shook ever so slightly.

Wufei's eyes widened as he realized how terrified the youth had to be. The pilots might not know much about what was going on, but they knew more than poor Yu Jie did, and on top of that had been trained to deal with situations like this. Appalled, he reached over and untangled the invalid's hands, taking one and curling his own hand around it protectively.

Startled, Yu looked up at him, his emerald eyes looking too big for his pale face, and the teenager did his best to look reassuring. "Hey, don't worry," he whispered. "I promised I'd look after you, didn't I?"

As the van pulled out of the drive, Wufei was gratified to see a tremulous smile pass over those beautiful lips.

It wasn't long before they were pulling out onto the nearest A-Road. The place where they had hidden the gundams was deep in the Trossachs Reserve, a good drive away from where they'd been hiding in Perth. They hadn't really been happy having the gundams that far away, but bringing them any closer without decent cover risked discovery.

"You should probably get some sleep," Wufei told his friend soon after. "It'll be a while before we get where we're going."

Yu gave him a skeptical look as the headlights of their fellow late-night travelers washed over the van's ceiling. "Sleep?" he whispered. "After all _that_?"

Up front, Maxwell stifled a lighthearted snicker, and the Chinese pilot quirked a miniscule grin. "The part to worry about is over," he whispered back. "Now it's just waiting."

"'Sides, if you don't get some sleep now you'll just be really tired later on when ya might need ta be awake." The braided boy glanced over his shoulder at them, his violet eyes serious for once. "Ya always have to think ahead."

"And you're still weak," Yuy said unexpectedly. "You need all the sleep you can get."

Wufei hid a delighted smile at that proof that their little group was beginning to accept Yu Jie. The Perfect Soldier himself was starting to join in on the mother-henning.

The amnesiac mock-pouted. "Well, if you're all going to gang up on me I suppose I might as well try." He slid down in his seat a bit, getting comfortable, and closed his eyes.

Duo wasn't at all surprised when, twenty minutes later when he looked in the mirror, he found the British boy's head had fallen to the side and now rested against Wufei's shoulder.

And Wufei, of course, didn't look like he minded one bit.

-

Quatre looked up with a relieved smile as he heard the muffled sound of a car engine. Praise Allah, he'd been afraid they wouldn't make it out in time… OZ hadn't known exactly where their safehouse was located, but they'd succeeded in accurately narrowing the search area to only a couple of square miles, and that was far too close. Quatre hadn't been sure he'd managed to get the warning out in time before the military cordoned off the area.

About a minute later, the van pulled into the clearing, its lights dark. The Arabian stepped out into the moonlight, out into sight, and almost immediately the van's left rear door opened. Trowa jumped out and strode towards him, his long legs eating up the distance between him and his lover.

Then Trowa's arms were around him, and Quatre was content.

-

"Status?" Heero asked, once he'd judged the two had spent long enough holding each other, and they reluctantly broke apart.

"Just some scrapes and bruises," the blonde answered with a slight smile. "But OZ had very nearly located the house, according to the transmission I picked up directed to the patrol I was following. I attacked to distract them, then retreated after I'd damaged them enough that they couldn't follow."

"Was your gundam damaged?"

"Minimally." Quatre glanced around at the little group. "We'd best be moving. It won't be long before they realize they've missed us and expand their search pattern again."

Duo nodded. "He's right." The American frowned. "So who's taking Jie-kun? I don't think there's room in my cockpit."

Wufei looked dismayed where he stood at the aforementioned boy's elbow. "Or in mine."

"I'll take him," Trowa said quietly. "The doctors had to design mine a bit larger." They all looked at his lean frame, easily the tallest of any of them, and understood.

"Cockpit?" Yu Jie asked curiously. The pilots exchanged glances, Duo grinning widely, and the braided boy took him by the arm as the others moved into the trees. The two of them followed, and Yu gaped at the sight before him.

Five enormous… _machines_ stood there, draped with camouflage netting and sheltered by the crowns of the soaring trees. Duo stepped forward and pulled the netting off of one, revealing a forty-foot robot that gleamed a nearly unrelenting black. "Yu Jie, meet my buddy, Deathscythe."

The amnesiac stared up at the robot, having temporarily forgotten how to blink along with the rest of his memories. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's called a gundam," Wufei replied quietly, once again by his side. "There are only five of them in existence."

"These five." It wasn't a question, but Wufei nodded anyway. The youth turned to look at him, his green eyes considering. "You're important," he guessed. "In the war. You're on the frontlines."

Wufei licked suddenly dry lips. He could hear the unspoken words attached to that. _You kill_. "Yes."

Yu Jie didn't say anything more, just looked at him with those enormous emerald eyes that the pilot found saw far too much for comfort. There was no condemnation in those eyes, and that was the only thing that kept his heart from breaking. But there _was_ a great deal of confusion there, and apprehension.

Wufei knew with a chill down his spine that the question hadn't yet been resolved.

The silence grew into an uncomfortable almost immediately, until finally Trowa stepped forward to break it by taking the young amnesiac by the elbow. "We need to move, he stated flatly, seemingly unaffected by the tension in the air.

Quatre nodded, absently kneading his chest as though it pained him. "Meet at the London safehouse if you get separated. We'll move on from there."

Wufei couldn't watch as the European pilot led Yu Jie away towards his own gundam. Instead, he turned to Nataku and began pulling off the camouflage netting that kept her from being spotted by satellites. He tensed when a hand touched his arm, and looked up into his best friend's eyes.

"He's going to hate me now," he said matter-of-factly, yanking on the last of the nets with more force than was really necessary.

"No, he won't." Duo helped him fold up the netting so it could be packed away. "He likes you too much. He just needs some time to think."

"How do you know?" Wufei asked harshly, clenching his fists at his sides. "How do you know he won't-"

"Why do you care so much what he thinks?" the longhaired boy interrupted, still folding the nets. "Why does his opinion matter?" His voice was almost appallingly casual, as if they were merely chatting about the weather.

"Because…" Wufei stopped. Why _did_ Yu Jie's opinion matter so much? Why did it feel like he was balancing on the edge of a precipice, and whatever the young Brit decided would tip him of off that precarious perch?

Because… because Yu was good, and kind, and beautiful, and in six days had made him feel more alive, more human, than he could ever before remember.

"Because I think I'm falling in love with him," the young man whispered, finishing the train of thought out loud as he stared down at the ground.

"And do you really think you could fall in love with someone who would hurt you like that?" When he looked up, Duo's face was calm and serious, though a tiny, knowing smile twitched at his lips.

"I…" Wufei took a deep breath. "No, I wouldn't."

Instantly the braided American was all smiles. "No, you wouldn't. So stop worrying, would ya? Just let him sort a few things out in his mind." He patted Wufei's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry, it'll turn out okay in the end."

Even with that reassurance, though, Wufei couldn't bring himself to look up when Heavyarms took off a couple of minutes later.

* * *

A/N: blinks Well. That's certainly the longest chapter I've ever written on this thing… Probably the oddest, as well. And with the most mood swings…

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_Our most sincere gratitude_ **A lilmatchgirl**, **Bay**, **Blackrosebunny**, **bookfanatic84**, **Capricious Purple Clarity**, **Ch3rryphr34k**, **Chara13**, **Crysania**** Fay**, **donna**** ficfan**, **Eve of Destiny**, **Faerie Fighter**, **Fate** (As far as I can tell… both words have both meanings. I guess it's a tone thing. grimaces), **Firehedgehog**, **Fynne**, **HellsMaji**, **insanechildfanfic**, **Jenn**** Lynne**, **Jewelle2**, **jordan**, **jueru2003**, **Lady Cinnibar**, **lady sakura cosmos**, **Laughing Cat** (Hopefully, more good 'Fei development), **MaraWeaves**, **Maxennce**, **Mithros**, **Nefertiri**** Riddle**, **Night-Owl123**, **oracale**, **Persephone** (My mind says bribery works, but my muse says no. I'm going to try to get at least a few words done on Melody next; hopefully, if I can get past this one scene I can get the rest done. And in a way, the answer's both.), **Prongsblacks**, **Sarah R Potter**, **Shinigami's**** Shadow**, **silverkitkat** (Once they have a chance to sit down and actually think about what he can remember things'll start happening), **Sliver of Melody**, **Stary**** Day**, **Sweetest Thang**, **Toki Mirage**, **VB** (snorts I'm already permanently attached to my computer at the hip. What more do you want? My hands strapped to the keyboard?), _and _**Von** _for reviewing.

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_

13 August 2005


	9. An Oath

**Warnings and Disclaimers: **Um. Ummmm...

* * *

They were silent through much of the long, tense flight. It was only towards the very end of it that Trowa turned his head to speak to the boy curled up behind his seat. "Are you all right?"

Yu Jie blinked up at him, drawn out of the contemplative daze he'd fallen into after Wufei's reluctant revelations. "...I'm not sure," he answered after a moment. "It's been a while since I've been able to feel anything below my neck."

A glint of amusement shone in the pilot's eye. "That wasn't what I meant," he said, a hint of chastisement in his voice.

Yu sighed, dropping his head to rest on his bent knees. "I know," he whispered.

Trowa glanced at the readouts in front of him, checking they were still on the right heading. "Are you afraid Chang will hurt you?"

"No!" The protest was almost a shout, and the amnesiac had to blush a little at his own vehemence. "He'd never do that," Yu finished, much more quietly. "I trust him."

The pilot nodded. "Then I would suggest you tell him so."

They didn't speak again, though Yu spent quite a lot of time staring at the back of Trowa's headrest, deep in thought.

-

Wing was the first to arrive at the rendezvous, closely followed by Heavyarms and Deathscythe. Nataku and Winner's Sandrock touched down last, and for a long minute Wufei just sat in his cockpit, reluctant to go out and face those innocent green eyes. But, finally, he unstrapped himself and hit the cockpit's release. The exit swung open before of him, revealing a small, but deep lake.

The others had all gathered near the jeep hidden in the bushes nearby as they went over their plans for the next couple of weeks. Yu Jie stood a little apart, listening attentively, but as Wufei joined them the amnesiac turned to look at him instead.

The Chinese teenager held perfectly still as Yu approached him, frozen in place by the intent look in his eyes. The boy stopped in front of him, looking up into his face for a brief eternity. Then he reached up, hugging the pilot around his neck, and for a heart-stopping moment Wufei thought he was going to kiss him.

"I'm sorry," Yu Jie said into the side of his neck, prompting a tiny shudder as his warm breath ghosted across sensitive skin. "I trust you."

Stunned, Wufei could only wrap his arms around the boy's slender waist. "Thank you," he murmured back. "That means a lot to me."

He felt Yu smile, and tightened his grip on the boy. It felt so right, to hold him like this; they fit together like the two halves of a whole. He didn't want the moment to ever stop, but all too soon he heard a polite cough from one of the other pilots and had to reluctantly pull away. Winner and Maxwell were both watching them with sappy grins on their faces, while Yuy checked over the jeep for tracking devices and Barton...

Wufei blinked, astonished. Was that a proud... _smile_ on his face?

"It's clear," Yuy finally concluded, turning off his scanner with a quiet beep and climbing out of the vehicle.

Maxwell grinned and ran for his Gundam to grab his things. "Come on, kiddies, let's get moving! We don't have all night, y'know!"

-

It didn't take long to settle into their new home. Until the large house in Scotland, this was an enlarged apartment, where the walls between two neighboring apartments had been knocked out to make one space. However, there were still only three bedrooms, so the pilots and their guest paired up into the two couples and Wufei with Yu Jie.

The martial artist didn't know whether he should be thrilled or terrified.

The amnesiac fell into bed not long after they arrived, pleading exhaustion, but the rest of the teenagers were still too keyed up to sleep. They gathered the apartment's common room, to talk and just to enjoy each others' presence.

And for some good, old-fashioned teasing, of course.

"So, how long do ya think it will take before they get together?" Duo asked, lying with his head in Heero's lap.

"That depends on how stubborn he's planning on being," Quatre answered with a smile.

Wufei scowled at them both. "_He _is sitting right here. And no, I'm not going to just jump him."

"Why not?" Duo sat up, shifting until he was pressed against his lover's side. "You two would be good together."

"Maybe because in subjective time he's not even a week old yet?" Wufei shook his head. "He doesn't know who he is yet. We're the only people he knows, and I'm not going to take advantage of that."

"In other words, he's going to be _really_ stubborn," the American told Quatre.

Still scowling, Wufei changed the subject. "We need to decide what we're going to do next. We need to set Yu Jie up with an actual identity."

"More than one, preferably." Trowa frowned, deep in thought. "We'll need passports, a couple of bank accounts he can pull from…"

"And we need ta teach him how to get around alone when he needs to," Duo added. "He can't keep hitchin' a ride in the Gundams. It's not safe."

Heero nodded. "We should teach him how do defend himself, as well. With weapons and without."

"All right…" Duo stared at the ceiling for a minute, his lips moving as he muttered to himself. "'Fei, Hee-chan, you two handle the weapons stuff. Q's already catching him up on what's going on, so Tro an' I'll teach him the rest, lockpickin' and transportation and stuff."

"It's a good thing we'll be staying here for a while, then," Quatre said with a gentle smile. "And a good thing Yu's getting some sleep. He'll need it in the morning."

"We should as well." Trowa rose, holding out a hand to his lover. Quatre gratefully took it and was pulled to his feet. "Good night."

Three farewells answered him as the two left the room. Wufei got up, stretching absentmindedly. "I'd best check on Yu Jie, then go to bed myself." He glared at Duo, stopping cold the automatic remark the braided teenager had been about to make, then headed back to his and Yu's room.

"So," Duo drawled, leaning into his boyfriend, "how long do we give 'em before we start lockin' them in closets?"

Heero smirked. "A couple of weeks, tops. We _do_ need to give Yu time to get his feet under him. After that, anything goes."

"Deal!" The other pilot laughed, delighted, and pressed in for a kiss.

-

Wufei didn't turn on the overhead light, not wanting to wake Yu now that he'd finally gone to sleep. Instead he flicked on one of the much dimmer bedside lamps, casting the room into shadows and shades of amber light.

The slumbering boy in the other bed didn't even twitch, which didn't really surprise the pilot. Considering what he'd been through in the last few hours- a late-night movie bash, scrambling to avoid their enemies, then being crammed into such a tiny space for even a relatively short flight- it was amazing he hadn't simply dropped where he stood much sooner.

Wufei stood there for a long minute, letting his eyes trace the planes of his friend's face in the dim light. The light made his pale skin glow golden, casting his cheekbones into stark relief, and the teenager had to resist the urge to move closer and follow those lines with his fingertips as his vow ran through his mind.

Finally, though, he shuddered and turned away. It shocked him how much willpower such a simple action took, and the martial artist had a horrible feeling it was only going to get harder as time passed. It was almost with a sense of relief that he finished preparing for bed and switched the light back off, again shrouding the beautiful boy in darkness.

* * *

A/N: sighs I can't help but think that this chapter sucks, and not just because it's so short, but damn me if I can do better right now. The river of creativity seems to have hit an unseasonable low. Next chapter should be easier, though- things actually start happening. And no, Yu Jie isn't exactly comfortable with Wufei's "job", it's just that there's a difference between knowing and seeing, which comes later.

On a similar note, though, according to my writing class I use too many adverbs. I'm trying an experiment to see if my writing's better when I don't use them as much, so I'm going to be paying attention to that aspect on the next few chapters of various stories. Please, give me some feedback on whether you prefer these or my usual style of writing.

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_Our most sincere gratitude to_ **A lilmatchgirl**, **Carolina**, **Ch3rryphr34k**, **Fate**, **feather-kufu**, **Firehedgehog**, **hercat**, **insanechildfanfic**, **Jenn**** Lynne**, **Kid Death**, **kirallie**, **Laughing Cat**, **maleficus****-lupus**, **MaraWeaves**, **Meemei** (The only story I've run into something like this is **Stormy1x2**'s _Parallel_- I'm afraid your email didn't come through), **Mithros**, **Nefertiri**** Riddle**, **Persephone** (grins Exactly! And remembering comes soon. Well, sort of.), **RtisTykSyko**, **Sarah R Potter**, **Shikai****-sama**, **Shinigami's**** Shadow**, **silverkitcat**, **Sliver of Melody**, **Toki Mirage**, _and_ **Wolflady** _for reviewing_.

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18 September 2005


	10. A Deception

**Warnings and Disclaimers:** Overprotective 'Fei makes his debut… smirks

* * *

Yu Jie groaned as his shoulder was shaken. "No," he muttered, pulling the covers over his head. "No, don't wanna get up, go away..."

He heard Wufei chuckle, a rich, deep sound that almost made him open his eyes, even as muffled by the blanket as it was. "It's morning," the Chinese pilot told him, and he could tell he was smiling. "Time to get up. You need to eat breakfast and then start your lessons."

Yu's eyes popped open. "Lessons?" he asked, pulling the covers down until he could see the other boy.

Wufei smiled at him from where he sat on the edge of the bed. "We'll protect you all we can, but being around us _is_ dangerous. We need to teach you how to take care of yourself in case anything happens."

"Like what?" The amnesiac sat up the rest of the way, shivering a bit as the cool morning air hit him.

"History, for one thing," Wufei replied, getting up. He walked over to one of the not-yet-unpacked duffel bags and unzipped it. "Since you've forgotten so much of it. Modern culture with it, and then things like self-defense and computer skills." He pulled out a loose white shirt and a pair of dark jeans.

Yu Jie accepted the clothes with a grateful nod. "That sounds like a lot to learn."

"Which is why we need to get started."

"True." He pulled yesterday's shirt off over his head, not noticing the way Wufei twitched.

"I'll... go tell the others you're up," the pilot said quickly, turning towards the door. Before the puzzled Yu Jie could say anything, he was already gone.

The boy stared after him for a long minute. "Strange," he finally murmured, donning the clean garments and rising so he could dress the rest of the way. He'd never seen Wufei act like that before. Maybe he wasn't feeling well?

-

Breakfast was a noisy affair. Duo chattered on, telling Yu about all the things they'd be teaching him, while Quatre and Heero occasionally threw in comments on one thing or another. Trowa was silent, which surprised no one, but Wufei hardly said anything at all. In fact, he rarely looked up from his plate, and when he did, he flushed ever so slightly whenever his eyes fell on his new roommate.

Quatre knew he wasn't the only one who had noticed. His lover watched both of them, his thoughts hidden by the fall of his hair, and Duo was shooting his two friends curious looks.

Yu Jie, however, seemed oblivious to the subtle tension, which was the only clue Quatre had that nothing bad had actually happened between them. It _could_ just be lingering embarrassment from the previous night...

As he thought, the young Arabian absently rubbed at one of the myriad tiny scrapes he'd collected over the last mission, this one most irritatingly located on his palm so that every time he moved that hand it twinged. The movement caught Yu's eye, and the amnesiac frowned.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see that last night," he said, reaching out. "Would you like me to...?"

Quatre was startled for a moment. He'd seen Wufei healed, but the ramifications of that hadn't truly soaked in. "I- please," he replied, letting Yu take his hand. A small, paranoid part of him was very afraid, shouting in the back of his mind that he didn't _know_ the boy, didn't know how he healed people, didn't know how it changed the people who were healed...

After all, Wufei was the only one of them that had been touched by the golden mist, and in less than a week he'd gone from a calm, levelheaded person (barring Duo's antics) to nearly falling over his feet to please Yu Jie...

But the rest of Quatre quashed the incipient paranoia. He'd never known Yu Jie to be anything but well-intentioned, even with his space heart, so he would trust the boy now.

As before, it was a moment before anything happened. Then the hand his was held by began to glow, as by a light from within; slowly the glow brightened, then crept across to Quatre's own skin, golden as the desert sands of his ancestral homeland at first light. With it came a feeling of well-being, and the blonde laughed out loud.

"That tickles!" he told his friends, a note of pure delight in his voice. When he took back possession of his hand, he wasn't at all surprised to see the scrape had vanished, and shifting confirmed that the rest scattered over his body were gone as well. "Thank you," he said, smiling at Yu.

Yu beamed happily back. "You're welcome." The boy bent back to his plate, taking another bite of his breakfast.

"Q, you should probably go first," Duo said, biting his lip in thought. "The physical stuff can wait, 'specially since he's sill coverin', but the culture an' history..."

Quatre nodded his agreement. "Yes. We'll get started on that after breakfast. Is that all right with you, Yu Jie?" he asked the amnesiac, only just realizing that none of them had gotten his thoughts on the matter.

Yu looked startled. "Er... It's fine, really. Sounds fun."

Duo snickered. "That's what you say _now_..."

-

A few hours later, Yu Jie was forced to agree with the American. Quatre was a good teacher, and quite a lot of the material was interesting, but there are only so many names and dates you can take in one sitting before your mind threatens to implode. The Arabian seemed to recognize that, thankfully, and just as he was ready to go stir-crazy Quatre closed the laptop he was reading from.

"That's enough for now, don't you think?" he said cheerfully. "I imagine you're pretty sick of this room by now."

The green-eyed boy gave him a sheepish grin. "Yeah, a bit." He rose when the blonde did. "Um, Quatre?" he asked hesitantly, remembering something from the lecture he'd thought was odd.

"Yes? What is it?"

"A couple of the people you were talking about, um, Heero Yuy, and Trowa Barton... Were Trowa and Heero named after them?"

Yu bit his lip as an uncomfortable look passed over the pilot's face. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up... "So to speak," Quatre finally replied. "Trowa and Heero... They don't know their birth names, not for sure, though there are a couple of possibilities. Their names are really code names."

After a moment Yu nodded in understanding. "They're... a little like me, then."

Quatre blinked, then smiled. "I hadn't considered it in that light, but... yeah. They're like you."

-

They were the only ones home for lunch, but by dinner time the other pilots had all arrived back, safe from their forays out into London. Trowa was the first back, and delighted Yu Jie by presenting him with an international passport and an identification card.

"Yu Jie Emerson?" the boy asked, briefly looking up from the beautifully forged ID.

"You don't look Chinese," Trowa told him. "But interracial marriages are common enough, that as dark as your hair is no one would be very surprised to find you were a half-blood."

Yu frowned thoughtfully, still studying his papers. "So, I guess I need to make up a story then, in case anyone asks?" The others nodded, and he closed his eyes. "All right. Um. My mum was Chinese, but my dad was from England, and… after she died when I was really young, we moved back to Europe?"

Quatre nodded. "It explains your accent and why you don't speak Chinese, but then there's the question of where your father is. He can't be dead, there would be too many questions about why you aren't with other family."

"Maybe he's sick?" Yu offered. "And sent me off with friends so I wouldn't worry so much about him? Of course, I didn't want to, but he insisted, and talking about him just makes me upset so it would be better to just drop the subject?"

The other two shared a look. "It's a little unusual, but that really just makes it more believable…" Quatre nodded slowly. "Yes, it should work. And if anyone presses, your overprotective friends can get… annoyed that they've upset you. Do you think you can pull the necessary acting off?"

The boy gazed at them, his emerald eyes wide and shocked, and slowly they began to fill with tears. "I-I… why would you…" As Trowa and Quatre watched in dismay, he hugged his arms across his chest and curled up into a ball in his wooden chair.

"No… Yu Jie, it's all right," the Arabian quickly said, reaching out to him. "You don't need to worry about that-"

"What the _hell_ is going on?"

Three heads snapped around to see Wufei standing in the doorway to the little kitchen. His eyes were on Yu's distraught face, and he looked ready to kill something. Or someone, as the Chinese pilot turned to look at them, his dark eyes blazing. "What. Happened?"

Quatre opened his mouth to reply, despite not really knowing himself what had gone wrong, when a perfectly calm British-accented voice spoke up instead. "We were coming up with a cover story. Quatre wanted to know if I could act well enough to convince someone it was real, so I thought I'd give them a demonstration."

They all stared incredulously at Yu Jie, who stared innocently back. "I think I answered the question," he concluded, cocking his head to the side.

Wufei was speechless for quite a few seconds, but finally he nodded. "I think you did." He held his hand out to his friend. "Come on, before they come out of it and realize they carry around lethal weaponry. I bought you some clothing that you need to try on, but I had to guess at the sizes."

A surprised and pleased Yu was escorted safely out of the kitchen, but Wufei needn't have worried. Quatre wasn't angry. More… puzzled. Yes, that was a good way to put it.

He'd always been able to tell what Yu Jie was feeling before, with his space heart. He could feel what the amnesiac felt now: a kind of child-like delight, as though he'd never received a present before- which on second thought, he hadn't.

But those few moments when he'd been actively trying to fool them…

Quatre had felt absolutely nothing coming from the green-eyed boy.

* * *

A/N: Oh, dear. What is it with me lately and unplanned plot quirks/twists? Excuses herself to go write down revisions

And see? My Yu Jie ain't helpless… He has nice strong Wufei who he can twist around his little finger if someone pisses him off.

And am I the only one seeing something somehow… _different_ about this chapter? It's driving me absolutely bug-fuck 'cause I can't figure out what it is… (And pardon the redneck phase I'm going through. Damn that Foxworthy…)

* * *

_Our most sincere gratitude to_ (**The person with the blank name)**, **A-Brighter-Dawn**, **A lilmatchgirl **(blinks He's not OOC yet? I thought I'd wandered off that track a long time ago…), **Amaris**** Kincaid**, **Britt8**, **Ch3rryphr34k**, **FairyQilan**, **Fate**, **feather-kufu**, **Firehedgehog**, **Grey Malwell**, **jordan**, **LassyD** (hugs Willpower is overrated, luv), **MaraWeaves**, **Mithros**, **Namaco**, **Ox King**, **purple pocka dots**, **Sarah R Potter**, **Shikai****-sama**, **Shinigami's**** Shadow**, **silverkitkat**, **Sliver of Melody**, **Toki Mirage**, **volume**, _and_ **WingsOfFate** (Hey, I've never seen the anime myself, and it's still my favorite…) _for reviewing.

* * *

_

26 October 2005


	11. A Dream

**Warnings and Disclaimers**: A Gundam pilot playing psychologist? Anyway, this is dedicated to kirallie for her inspiring GW/HP, even if it comes a bit later than planned...

* * *

The day had been quiet. That kind of thing was rare in the life of a Gundam pilot, and Duo treasured it. He watched from his seat at the table as Quatre and Yu Jie moved around the kitchen in what seemed almost a choreographed dance. 

None had been more astonished than the amnesiac when they accidentally discovered he could cook, and cook well. It was actually Duo's fault; he'd been in the middle of his turn at cooking dinner when he'd been called away for a mission. He found out later he'd forgotten to turn off the stove, and Yu Jie wandered into the kitchen to find their dinner in grave danger of burning. The boy managed to rescue it, and even improve the quality of the meal.

He was delighted to find out he had another useful ability, and to be honest the other teenagers were as well. None of them had any particular talent in the kitchen; Quatre had potential, but experience was even more important, and living the sheltered life he had hadn't offered him the opportunity to gain any. They'd unanimously voted the British boy the resident chef, and Yu was taking the opportunity to give the blonde a few lessons of his own.

Duo felt a hand stroke his braid, and glanced over to see his lover settling down in the seat beside him. "Hey."

Heero gave him a tiny smile, a bare twitch of the lips, but still amazingly expressive for the taciturn pilot. The other two teenagers murmured their hellos as well, though they didn't turn from their task. "Just a couple more minutes," Yu Jie told them cheerfully.

Quatre considered the range of food cooking. "I can manage the rest, I think. Why don't you go tell Trowa and Wufei to come and get ready to eat?"

The other boy nodded and moved towards the doorway, nearly running into Wufei as the older teenager appeared on the other side. Yu grinned and stepped aside to let him pass. "Just Trowa left, then."

Wufei watched until he was out of sight down the corridor, then joined his fellow pilots around the table. "He's changed," he stated, sounding surprised. "He's much more..."

"Relaxed? Open?" Duo offered.

Wufei frowned. "Those, too, but... not quite. More _comfortable_."

The American nodded, resting his chin on top of his folded arms. "Yeah, I'd noticed that, too..." He chewed his lip thoughtfully. "It does make sense, though. We've been a lot less tense around him lately."

Heero frowned. "_We've_ been less tense around _him_? Wouldn't it be the other way around?"

Duo shook his head. "Not if you think about it. I mean, haven't you noticed the way Yu Jie kinda reflects our emotions? Not the way you do, Q, but he pays a lot of attention to how we're feeling. And in the beginning, we were all really tense around him 'cause we either didn't trust him or because we were afraid of how he'd react when he knew what we were." He made sure to glance at Wufei at that point, but the other pilot barely reddened. His blush reflex had a lot of abuse from his friends the past couple of weeks, and its immunity was growing. "But then he found out about the Gundams, and nothing bad happened, so we all just sort of relaxed and he knew it."

The other teenagers were quiet. It was true. Once they knew Yu wasn't going to hate them or be afraid of him, they were much more willing to let him in past their individual shields. Quatre and Duo were undoubtedly fond of the boy; Trowa had been seen holding quiet conversations with him. Heero didn't show any mercy during their physical conditioning, of course (though admittedly those sessions were still fairly light), but outside of them the Perfect Soldier treated him almost like a younger brother.

And Wufei... well, they all knew how _he_ felt about Yu Jie.

Duo felt an evil grin spread his face and quickly hid it before his friend could notice. There really wasn't very much left of that two-week deadline...

-

Later that night, Wufei sat up against the headboard reading a novel by the ancient playwright Shakespeare. Normally it was something that relaxed him, let him unwind from the day's stresses, but tonight the words of the immortal bard weren't working as well as he'd hoped. His attention kept wandering from the pages to across the room, where Yu Jie lay quietly, perfectly still and peaceful but for the slow rise and fall of his chest and the fluttering of his lids deep in REM sleep. Wufei would watch him, until he caught himself staring, then jerk his eyes back to the book in his hands. A few minutes would pass, then his eyes would drift again, and the cycle would repeat itself.

With an exasperated growl, Wufei finally closed the book with a decisive snap. Immediately he sent a guilty look towards the slumbering boy, but the amnesiac didn't even stir.

The pilot sighed. This... this infatuation was getting out of hand. It was getting stronger as more time passed, and a growing part of him was beginning to believe wholeheartedly in the confession of love Duo had gotten out of him. Every day, it was harder for him not to do something that would reveal his emotions, and he was fairly sure the only one who hadn't noticed how strangely he was acting was Yu Jie himself. He hadn't known Wufei long enough to know what he was normally like.

Wufei rubbed a hand over his face, then pulled the tie out of his hair and let himself slip until he was lying down properly. The book went on the bedside table, and he was just reaching over to turn off the lamp when he heard a sound. It took him a moment to recognize what the sound was. Once he had, almost before he realized it he was standing over the source of the noise: a whimpering Yu Jie.

A nightmare, he decided, studying Yu's face. The boy's eyes were clenched tight now, and faint creases showed on his forehead. Most people thrashed at least a bit during nightmares, but Yu didn't, which made Wufei more than a bit unhappy. A reaction like that more often than not meant the person in question had taught their body not to twitch under the influence of bad dreams.

It meant that whoever Yu Jie really was, was someone well used to nightmares.

However much that upset Wufei, though, there was nothing he could do about it. Yu was having a nightmare _now_, and that he _could_ put a stop to. He sat down on the edge of the bed and took the boy by the shoulders. "Yu Jie? Wake up! It's just a dream."

There was no immediate reaction. The emerald eyes stayed closed, though Yu whimpered thinly again. Frowning in concern, Wufei shook him, gently at first, then more harshly as still nothing happened. Stymied, the pilot considered the idea of slapping him, but the very thought made him cringe.

He was just about to give shaking him awake one more try when suddenly Yu Jie tensed and let out a short, sharp cry of pain. His eyes opened in the next moment, dilated pupils almost blacking out the green. The boy stared at him wide-eyed, breathing heavily. "Wufei?"

The Chinese pilot nodded cautiously, recognizing the hair-trigger fight or flight reflex for what it was. He slowly held out his arms, and Yu was sitting up and held within them almost before he could blink. Wufei just held the trembling body for a few minutes, until the shaking finally began to slow.

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked into the soft mess of hair, rubbing a soothing circle on the boy's back with one hand.

"A snake."

Wufei blinked. He could safely say that hadn't been at all what he was expecting. "A… snake?"

Yu Jie nodded, pulling back to meet his eyes. "A really big one. It was yelling at me, threatening me. It didn't have any eyes, but it could still tell where I was. And then it bit me!"

A giant, talking snake… Wufei sighed. "You didn't eat any sugar with Maxwell before bed, did you?"

"No. He's scary when he eats sugar." Wufei had to laugh at the muffled words spoken into his shoulder. Yu Jie relaxed a bit at the sound, and the shivering nearly stopped.

For a few minutes more the pilot held him, but finally he forced himself to pull back. "So, where did it bite you?" he asked. Yu _had_ cried out in pain while dreaming, and sometimes external hurts were incorporated into dreams. If his friend was hurt somehow, he wanted to know about it.

Yu gave him a puzzled look, but held out his right arm and gestured to its upper half. Wufei pulled the sleeve of his tee back, and was relieved to see no blood or bruising. "Well, that's all right, then…" He stopped and took a closer look.

There, so faint as to be near invisible, was a ragged, vaguely round patch of skin that was a bare shade lighter than the rest. Carefully, he pulled Yu over until the lamplight fell a bit better on the spot. It didn't seem to be a scar, since the texture was the same as the surrounding skin when he ran a finger across it. "Twist your arm to I can see the bottom, please," he requested, and Yu complied.

And sure enough, there was a corresponding light spot on the other side, though not directly across from the first as he'd expected. It was located just off to the side, and was smaller, as well, as though whatever had caused the discoloration wasn't constructed in a straight line. Instead, it was curved, and obviously larger at the base than at the tip.

Both of which described a snake's fang, but the snake in question would have to be big enough to swallow a _horse_.

* * *

A/N: Not my longest, but I need to go get ready for a choir thing… Sorry this took so long, guys, but I had the first part of this on my pda, which broke. Got it working again at least temporarily and wanted to get something out in case it poops out on me again. Finally got my original short story for class finished, so I should have more time to work anyway. 

Hugs everyone who reviewed I'll answer a few reviews when I get back.

* * *

**15 December 2005** (Merry Christmahanukwanzakuh, everyone… Just in case)


	12. An Incident

**Warnings and Disclaimers:** A teensy little section quoted from the books.

* * *

If Wufei was a tad subdued the next morning, often taken by bouts of thoughtfulness, Yu Jie was anything but. He attacked his lessons with a vigor that could only be attributed to his rapidly improving health. An approving Heero upped the intensity of the amnesiac's daily workouts, and even started making plans for beginning his self-defense lessons.

There was a flip side to Yu's energy, though. He fidgeted through his history and cultural lessons, even though he admitted to Quatre that what he was learning wasn't actually all that boring. It was just that there was a... he described it as an _itch_, beneath his skin. It felt like there was something he was supposed to be doing, something the lessons were supposed to contain but didn't. He just couldn't put a name to it, no matter how hard he tried.

A few days later, once Yu Jie had been declared physically healthy, if not as fit as he soon would be, Heero took him on a day trip out of London for his first lesson in firearms. Wufei spent that day fudging reports to the doctors with Duo's help, replacing any even semi-serious injuries with minor ones. The pilots still hadn't reported Yu's presence among them by a unanimous agreement, Heero's part in which had mildly astonished the others. He offered as a reason that Dr. J in particular would want to lock the boy into a laboratory and run tests on him, where he would be no use at all to the war effort.

It was a valid reason, legitimate enough that they decided not to call him on the vaguely uncomfortable look that was on his face at the time.

-

"The chamber is empty," Heero recited, handing Yu the 9mm Beretta. "Safety is on."

It was a little hard to hear him through the ear protection, but the boy nodded. He carefully stepped up to the line they'd drawn in the dirt and jacked the slide back. Heero had spent the last few hours teaching him about gun safety and maintenance, making him disassemble and reassemble the gun he held now time and time again. But this was the first time he was actually going to be allowed to shoot it.

The forest around them was eerily silent to his covered ears as Yu brought his arms up and aimed at the paper target. He clicked the safety off, cocked it... The sights wavered over the target, and he tensed his wrists, trying to bring them under control.

Heero watched closely, standing a few feet back so he could see everything. Yu's stance was okay, though he could see a few places where he would point out improvements later on, but the boy was tensing his wrists far too much. The pilot didn't say anything; Yu would learn his lesson when the recoil made his joints ache.

The gun roared.

The glint of the bullet striking a rock just below where the target hung registered in Heero's mind at just about the same time as the burning pain in his arm.

-

Heero and Yu Jie didn't get back until around dinnertime. The Japanese pilot slammed open the door and stalked in, his face a thundercloud, and Yu trailed him looking utterly mortified.

"What-?" Duo asked, half-rising from his seat on the couch in front of his laptop. Wufei set his own computer aside with a worried frown.

"_Never_ let him near a gun," Heero hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the blushing amnesiac. "Never."

He turned and stalked out, heading towards his and Duo's room. "But what happened?" the American called out after him.

_"He shot me!"_

The stunned pilots turned to look at Yu Jie, who had buried his burning face in his hands. "I didn't mean to!" he protested into his palms, his voice muffled. "The bullet ricocheted..."

Duo was the first to start laughing. Wufei joined him in hilarity a bare moment later, and Yu groaned. "You… you…" Duo had to pause to let a spate of giggles pass. "Oh, man, poor Hee-chan…"

"It was really just a graze. I mean, I already healed him! It wasn't that bad…"

The braided teenager interrupted Yu's babbling with a waved hand. "Easy, Jie-kun. It's okay. It's just…" He laughed again. "Did I ever tell you how me an' Heero met?"

Yu shook his head and weaved a little on his feet. He might have been declared relatively healthy, but the events of the day had still left him tired. Realizing that the boy was still standing, Wufei slid over on the couch and gave him a pointed look.

"No, you haven't," the amnesiac replied with some curiosity as he sank onto the cushion.

"I shot him." Duo grinned at Yu Jie's astonishment. "Twice. So I've still got you beat by one."

Wufei couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at the expression on his friend's face. "Don't worry," he told him. "Yuy will cool down."

Duo nodded agreement. "Eventually. Just don't expect him to ever hand you a gun again."

Yu smiled ruefully and rubbed his wrists. "I don't really mind that. I didn't like shooting all that much anyway."

And that was really the way it should be, Wufei reflected. Yu Jie was a healer, not a fighter. If he never had to shoot at anyone, the pilot would be overjoyed.

The conversation went on, though Wufei only occasionally put in a few words of his own. He preferred to watch, as Duo got the boy to forget his embarrassment and tell them about their drive through London. Yu hadn't recognized anything as they'd hoped he would, though he did say he'd had the oddest feeling that something wasn't where it should have been. His description of an enormous clock tower tugged at something in Wufei's memory, but pursuit of it brought nothing to mind. He made a mental note to follow that train of thought further later on.

The door to the apartment opened, and Trowa held it open with an arm so a heavily-laden Quatre could slip inside. The three of them rose to help with the groceries, exchanging cheerful greetings. Duo began to regale them with tales of Yu's exploits, making the boy flush red again, and the shared laughter rang through the room.

It was nice. Idyllic, almost. Wufei would have submerged himself in it, let it wash over him without protest, except for one thing that still troubled him.

Yu Jie's dreams continued, each more disconcerting than the last.

-

_A delicate goblet, made of a beautiful blue glass, stood on a pedestal. Flames leapt from it, flames tinted that same ethereal blue. It was binding, there was no way out…_

_The eyes stared at him, eyes shocked, angered, and jealous, and all he wanted to do was scream at them that he didn't want this._

-

_His breath came ever shorter as his feet pounded on the pavement. He didn't think he could run much longer, but there was no way he was going to let them catch him again, so soon after the last time. The last thing he needed was more bruises on top of the ones he already had…_

-

_This was Heaven! The wind tore at his eyes, leaving trails of tears to make their way down his cheeks, but he'd never been happier. He ignored the shouts below telling him to come down before he got himself hurt. He wouldn't. How could he be hurt by something that felt so natural, such a part of him?_

_How could he never have flown before?_

_The shouting became shriller, more demanding, and he finally glanced down at the faces so far below, the only things between him and the ground._

_Spoilsports._

-

_It was the eyes that scared him most._

_You'd think it would have been the teeth, or the viciously barbed tail,or the spurts of flame it let out every few seconds, but no. It was the eyes. Cunning. Intelligent, even. A black so dark you would have expected them to hold no human emotion because there was nothing human about them. But they were angry._

_Angry with him, and he was so, so screwed…_

-

"_Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"_

"_Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…"_

"_Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead…"_

_A flash of green light, then, and cold laughter that made his ears ache and his heart shrink. There was a feeling of darkness in the room; a sense of pure… evil was the only word he could use to describe it. It moved closer, and he wailed in terror._

_There was another flash of green light, and a burning pain…_

-

Yu Jie sat up with a choked scream, and almost immediately felt comforting arms around him. They held him for a long minute as he tried to get his breath back, before Wufei spoke. "Another dream?" There was a note in his voice that made it not be a question; the other teenager was getting well used to this routine.

The amnesiac nodded, leaning his head against his friend's chest. "Yeah."

"What was this one about?"

Yu told him, keeping his voice low. If he hadn't woken of the others with his yelling, he wasn't going to risk doing it by just talking. Afterwards, Wufei absently stroked his back as he thought, a tiny frown on the pilot's face. Yu leaned into the touch, relishing the way he always felt safe when they were like this.

"What do you think it means?" he asked quietly.

Wufei shook his head. "I don't know. It could be an actual memory, or just your subconscious throwing our random images…"

"Oh." Abrupt awaking or not, the hand on his back and the increasing exertion of his days were lulling Yu back to sleep. It felt so nice… One last thought occurred to him as he felt his eyelids growing heavier. "There was a name."

Against him, Wufei's body stiffened, but his drowsy mind didn't take notice. "What was it?" the pilot asked.

"Harry…"

For a long time after that, Wufei held the sleeping boy, torn between two conflicting emotions: delight, and dismay.

* * *

A/N: Not a lot of time, got to head off to school. Chapter feels weird, as always, but I hope you like anyway. I'm moving things along a bit faster than originally planned, or at least moving things planned early to later in the story. Ta.

Hugs to reviewers

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1 March 2006


	13. A Resolution

_Warnings and Disclaimers:_ I could have sworn this story was dead and buried…

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"Are you all right?"

Wufei briefly glanced up from polishing his katana to see Winner hovering in the doorway. "I'm fine," he said shortly, giving the blade another swipe with the cloth. He kept his eyes on his task, hoping the Arabian would take the hint and leave him alone.

No such luck. He'd forgotten how very stubborn the little blonde could be. Instead, Winner stepped further inside. "I can feel you from the other end of the apartment, you know," he said quietly. "Confusion, and helplessness, and then anger because of both of them. It's getting stronger the longer you ignore it."

Wufei could feel those blue eyes intent on him, and his shoulders started to creep defensively together without his consent. "Is this about Yu Jie?" Winner asked, though he sounded as though he already knew the answer.

The pilot refused to answer, setting down the cloth to test the blade with his thumb. There was a tiny flash of pain as it sliced into his flesh, and when he looked at his hand a tiny droplet of blood welled from a slit hardly deeper than a paper cut. It was nothing, less than nothing. If he asked, Yu Jie would heal it in a blink...

Muscles tensed as his mind finally wandered down the path he'd been trying to avoid for the week or so. A part of Wufei was happy that his friend was reclaiming what he'd lost, assuming that last had not been a figment of his imagination as all the others had to be, but... how would those memories change him? It felt as though every piece of his former life Yu Jie regained put him farther beyond the martial artist's reach, and set a stranger in his place.

Still standing in the doorway, Quatre watched his fellow pilot with concern. Whatever was going on inside his head had left the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes, and the Chinese boy's temperament seemed to have reverted back to what it had been before Yu appeared in their lives. He was isolating himself, and the strings on his temper had shortened, until he barely tolerated anyone.

Not even Yu had been able to tell Quatre what was going on when he'd asked, since Wufei was very nearly avoiding him as well- as much as possible when they were rooming together, anyway. It was the shading of hurt in his eyes that had led to the blonde's attempt to quietly confront Wufei about it.

And it was only an attempt, because it wasn't working. Quatre was trying, but his friend just wasn't willing to hear him. Knowing Wufei, he probably hadn't even admitted to himself what the problem was yet.

When the other teenager continued to refuse to answer him, Quatre at last sighed and stepped out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. That tactic had crashed and burned... Now, perhaps, it was time for another. He turned and headed down the hallway. Duo had mentioned something about Wufei's two-week grace period being up soon. Yes, locking someone in a closet was rather heavy-handed, and maybe even a little cruel… but it might work.

And this couldn't be allowed to continue.

-

Yu Jie sat quietly as he listened to Trowa's lecture on geography. In testing the amnesiac, they'd found that he had only a basic comprehension of what was where; he knew the names of the larger territories, but the smaller ones and even most major cities eluded him. The lesson wasn't as boring as it might have been; the European boy had visited most of the places he was lecturing on, and he had a tendency to toss in little anecdotes about them, filled with his particular brand of dry humor.

Trowa in teaching mode wasn't anything like his normal self. He wore the slightest of smiles as he spoke, and there was a sparkle in his one visible eye that brightened its color until the green nearly matched Yu's. He still wasn't as animated as Duo (but then, who could be?) or Quatre, but Yu Jie enjoyed watching his friend when he was like this.

His pen _scritched_ quietly against the notebook he was taking notes in. He had a pretty good memory, for everything that had happened since he woke up, anyway, but there was something comforting in jotting things down. Once down on paper, the knowledge couldn't be forgotten again, and so he took notes, even though from what Duo had told them earlier, his friends' ideas of a test weren't on paper.

As though summoned by the thought, the braided American stuck his head through the door. "Hey, Tro? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Trowa gave him a tiny nod, gesturing for Yu Jie to continue studying the map in the center of the table before stepping out of the kitchen. The amnesiac did so for about a minute, futilely straining his ears to try to hear the voices, mostly Duo's, speaking outside the door. Then he sighed and put down his pen to gingerly rub his forehead. He'd had a vague, distant headache all day, centered beneath the odd-looking scar that had resisted all of his attempts to heal. The headache wasn't particularly painful, but it was distracting, making it hard to focus as much as he should have been on Trowa's lesson.

Absently noting that Quatre's voice had joined the other two, the boy glanced down at his paper and felt his lips quirk into a rueful smile. He didn't know where he'd picked it up, but apparently he'd had a penchant for doodling as well as taking notes during lectures. There was a rather pitiful drawing of the clock tower he'd expected to see during his brief tour of London, and a surprisingly good sketch of a dragon with a barbed tail and swept-back spikes on its head that reminded him of Wufei's tight ponytail.

Yu Jie frowned at the thought of his friend. Wufei had been acting odd lately. Yu wasn't quite sure when it had started, but he'd noticed it for sure four or five days ago. During the day, up until they went to bed, in fact, Wufei rarely spoke, even more rarely civilly; the Brit hesitated to call him standoffish, but he was afraid the adjective wasn't that far off. But then, whenever Yu inevitably awoke from his dreams, whether they were true nightmares or merely disturbing, he would feel Wufei's arms around him, holding him tight until he was able to go back to sleep.

It was very confusing, and Yu Jie was beginning to find that he hated being confused. It was taking a great deal of willpower sometimes to stop himself from slapping his friend upside the head and demanding some straight answers.

With another sigh, Yu picked up his pen once more, and bent back over the map. Heero had explained very thoroughly that the next time they had to move, they might not be able to take the amnesiac with them in a Gundam. If he didn't know how to get around by then, he'd be stranded alone in London.

That wasn't a prospect Yu looked forward to, so he studied.

-

Wufei carefully shut the bedroom door behind him, and moved up the hallway towards the direction of hushed voices. He hadn't wanted to leave the room, and its imagined safety, but his grumbling stomach and a growing sense of cowardice had finally forced him out. He didn't want to think about how, while he might be worried that he was losing Yu Jie to his memories, shutting him out the way the pilot had been would do it for sure.

Yuy was the only pilot absent from the little group that broke apart as though stung when Wufei appeared. Winner had the grace to look faintly embarrassed as he maneuvered past him in the hallway, but Barton's expression never changed and Maxwell actually _smirked_ at him as they scattered. Feeling faintly uneasy, the Chinese teenager hurried into the kitchen, where Yu Jie sat alone at the table, poring over a map of Eurasia with a notebook at his elbow.

"Have you eaten?" Wufei asked the other boy shortly, though he had the feeling he already knew the answer. Yu Jie might enjoy cooking, but he never seemed to regard actually eating with the same verve.

The amnesiac had jumped in surprise at his abrupt entrance, and now smiled sheepishly at him. "Er, no, not yet. I… I wanted to wait for you," he said, the last few words as he ducked his head nearly too quiet for Wufei to hear.

A rush of pleasure and guilt ran through the martial artist, and to hide his blush he walked past and over to the refrigerator. "What would you like on your sandwich?" he asked, opening the door and letting the colder air inside cool down his warm cheeks.

"Turkey, please," Yu answered.

It took only a couple of minutes for Wufei to make their sandwiches, making two for Yu Jie after a second thought. He was still far too thin, even though all five of them were making sure he ate enough. At first they had put it down to the traces of malnutrition Winner had found when he first examined the newcomer, but it was now clear he simply had a metabolism that put even Maxwell's to shame. It was Wufei's theory that whatever enabled Yu to heal them required a great deal of personal energy; it would explain why the boy fainted after his first attempt at healing another person.

They ate together, Yu Jie still studying the map in between bites. Wufei watched him for a while, before tearing his eyes away to glance at the notebook instead. "Is that the dragon from your dream?" he asked quietly, surprised at the graceful lethality of the drawing.

Yu nodded absently. "It was a lot bigger then, though."

The pilot snorted at that understatement. From the way his friend had been shaking after that particular nightmare, it sounded like it would have been able to use the snake that might or might not have left those marks on Yu Jie's arm as a chew toy. "And this other one?" It was much cruder than the first, but sparked a familiarity in the back of his mind that was in itself strangely familiar.

Yu finally tore his eyes away from the map to blink at the doodles. "That? That's the clock tower I remembered. I think. There weren't a lot of details…"

"And there were details for the dragon?" Wufei asked, but his mind was still on the sketch of the tower. He'd meant to try and research it, but it had slipped his mind. It might've been important, and he really ought to get out his laptop and start looking…

Later, he decided, seeing how enjoyment of his company still lingered in expressive emerald eyes. First, he would finish lunch with his friend, and then perhaps they could watch a movie together. It had been a while since either of them had done anything to relax. This, this was what was important.

Research could wait.

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A/N: A filler chapter. I'm sure it thrilled you as much to read as it did me to write… Note to self, nothing happening in the chapter, nothing happening with the muse, either…

Can I ask a favor from any of you who can get a hold of the site people? I have one of those special accounts, but I've never been able to get its email to work, or to log into the help site (I've tried every combination of my penname or my email, and nothing works). Can you ask them to get in touch with me? My account was supposed to expire on the 15th, and it still hasn't. I can't figure out a way to pay for the next year…

Anyway, hugs to everyone who reviewed and is still hanging around waiting for an update. Persistence pays off…

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19 September 2006


	14. An Investigation

**Warnings and Disclaimers:** Unlikely plot devices. Yes, you have been warned.

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One hand reached back to pull the band from his sweat-soaked hair as Wufei nearly fell into the chair. The tiny motel room he was in had little more to it than a bed, a bathroom, beat-up desk and the chair he was sitting in, but all he'd really been interested in when he'd pulled up on the bike had been the bed and the sign blinking 'wireless access' in the motel's window. The sweep for surveillance bugs had already come up clean, and he was already twenty-four hours past his check-in time with the other pilots.

Quickly setting up his laptop, he opened his email and the encryption program and typed out a quick mission summary. For a moment the pilot's fingers paused over the keys as his mind debated, and then he added a quick note at the end, telling Yu Jie that he was well.

The others might have been used enough to their lifestyle not to worry overmuch when a check-in was a little late, but his friend wasn't. Especially when Wufei's departure had been so hasty that the Chinese teenager hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye, and their last conversation before that had been... awkward.

He glanced out the window at the bleak desert, the sun only just starting to set. Actually going to sleep this early would throw his internal clock off; if there had been some benefit to it, he wouldn't have hesitated, but he refused to submit to his body's weakness. Instead Wufei bent back over the laptop, calling up the search program as he'd been intending to do for far too long. He'd been reluctant, before, leery of finding out too much about Yu Jie past for reasons that were so selfish he was ashamed to even think of them, but that last conversation between them had offered him new incentive.

Protecting and helping his friend had to take priority over everything else, even if protecting Yu Jie meant losing him. And there were things in Yu Jie's past that Wufei had found needed correcting.

-

_Wufei pounded on the door again, actually trembling with anger, but to no avail. It wasn't just locked- they must have barricaded it somehow. The others had ribbed him about it, yes, and there'd been that glint in Maxwell's eyes that said he was genuinely considering it, but how _dare_ they! This went far beyond dishonorable, not just towards himself but towards the civilian they had the nerve to call friend._

_A soft noise behind him made him step back from the door and turn around, though he couldn't see his companion in the darkness. A hand groped for the light switch, only to find it had been disabled, torn neatly out of the wall. "Yu Jie?" he asked, worried._

_"Stop," the boy answered, and Wufei felt a hand waving through the air, to catch on his shirt. "If you hurt your hands, I've never healed a broken bone before. I don't want to have to experiment on you."_

_The hand was warm through the shirt, and the teenager fought back a blush, even though there was no way it could have been seen. "I swear, when they let us out…" he growled, briefly covering Yu Jie's hand with his own in acknowledgment._

_"May I join you?" his friend asked, a hint of laughter in his voice as, to Wufei's relief, he released his grip. "I knew Duo played pranks, but somehow, this wasn't what I had in mind. Do you think we'll be in here long?"_

_Wufei reached for the side, where his memory insisted the counter was, and found and leaned against it. "Knowing Maxwell, only the ancestors know," he replied with a sigh. The rage had gone out of him for the moment, leaving only a vague sense of irritation and dread. He knew what the aim of the 'prank' was, but did Yu Jie? If the amnesiac had any inkling of what the other pilots had meant by this, Wufei didn't know that he'd ever be able to look his friend in the eye again._

_He sighed again. At least it wasn't an actual closet. Being locked in the tiny bathroom was humiliating enough._

_There was a rustle of cloth- Yu Jie sliding down to sit on the floor. Recognizing the wisdom of not standing for a wait that had the possibility of turning into hours-long, Wufei sat as well, his back to the door. With nothing else to do, he closed his eyes and began counting his breaths._

_It wasn't anything in particular that brought him out of his meditation, only a sense that something wasn't quite the same. It wasn't as dark as it had been before, with the thinnest trickle of light coming through between the door and the frame. He could just make out Yu Jie, the younger boy curled into himself, and the sounds of his breathing were deep and regular._

_"Are you asleep?" Wufei whispered, almost disbelieving. How in the world could the boy sleep under circumstances like these?_

_"No," Yu Jie murmured after a moment, though the slurring in his voice suggested he wasn't far from it. "It's just so peaceful in here."_

_The pilot blinked. "Peaceful?"_

_"Mmhm. An' safe. Like my cupboard."_

_Wufei went still. Another memory? "Which cupboard would that be?" he asked after a minute or so of silence had passed._

_"The cupboard under the stairs. I lived there." Yu Jie yawned and curled tighter into himself. "He couldn't get me in there."_

_"Lived there…" Wufei repeated quietly, but there was no answer. He stared through the darkness at the slumbering boy, dismay rooting him where he sat._

_When Maxwell at last opened the door to let them out, the spill of light revealed Wufei holding Yu Jie's smaller form. The American started to grin, only for it to falter as the martial artist looked up at him. There was no expression on his face, and his dark eyes were hard. "Someone hurt him," Wufei said quietly._

_They'd suspected the possibility, based on the myriad little clues in the boy's mannerisms and the shape he'd been in when he arrived, but to have it so baldly confirmed was still unsettling. "Any idea who?" Maxwell asked, for once with no trace of the loudmouthed troublemaker about him._

_Wufei shook his head. "Not yet. But I'm going to find out."_

-

Now, with nothing to distract him, Wufei began his search in earnest. Yu Jie's dreams didn't lend themselves to hard facts, but there was one thing he could search for and be reasonably sure of getting results on.

_London clock tower_, he typed, and hit enter. A list of sites appeared after a moment, and he clicked on the first of the links. The site it led to looked like the kind of report a schoolchild would write.

"The Palace of Westminster Clock Tower, which contained the giant bell commonly known as 'Big Ben', was built in London in 1859 C.E.," he read aloud. That agreed with the vague sense of familiarity he felt, but it didn't give him any other clues to follow. There was a picture included. The clock tower didn't look that much like Yu Jie's sketch, but it was recognizably the same building.

Frowning, he skimmed further ahead, and paused as he came to a paragraph towards the end of the article. "It was destroyed in 2066 C.E. by an unknown group of terrorists."

The logical explanation was that Yu Jie had done a similar report once upon a time, but there was a half-formed suspicion in the back of Wufei's mind that, until now, he hadn't dared to give serious consideration. It was insane, utterly so, but combined with the music, the lack of knowledge of history and geography…

He opened his email again and typed out a message to Barton, the only pilot he could trust to follow his instructions without questions. At least, without questions until after he'd performed the search as requested.

-

_"Decided how you're going to die this weekend?" a laughing voice asked him._

"_Neptune is ascendant, so maybe by drowning," he answered absently, paging through his book. "Though I think I might have used that one in August. Think she'll notice?"_

"_Trelawney?" a second voice asked, one nearly identical, but still distinguishable from the first voice. "Eh… maybe. Make it that you'll be drowned by merpeople, she'll eat that up."_

"_Really, you two! Don't encourage him," his friend demanded, swiping at their heads with a thick book of her own. "Harry, you really ought to actually be doing your homework, not just making it up."_

"_Hermione, weren't you the one who stopped taking Divination because it was a load of bunk?" he retorted, trying to ignore the way a third redhead was glaring daggers at him from across the room._

-

With hardly any transition, Yu Jie was awake and opening his eyes. The first thing he reached for was the notebook and pen at the side of his bed, and he jotted down the details of the dream that seemed most important before they could fade. He hadn't used to keep a notebook, instead telling Wufei and trusting him to remember, but the other boy had been away from the flat for nearly a week now.

He sighed, looking down at the page. Wufei had left so quickly, and the amnesiac had been left with the odd feeling that he'd said something in the bathroom that had upset his friend, but couldn't for the life of him remember what. Duo had apologized for locking them in, but continually refused to say why he'd done it in the first place until he'd managed to escape Yu Jie's questions by taking a mission in the Americas.

_Trelawney, merpeople, Harry, Hermione, Divination_… He rather thought this had been his strangest dream yet, for all that it felt like a common, everyday scene during the dream itself. Or maybe that was what had been strange about it. Between the unusual words, and the way the girl in his dream, Hermione, had without a doubt been calling him Harry, it seemed like it should have been something more… extraordinary.

His stomach growled, breaking his train of thought. Yu Jie had only picked at his dinner, despite Quatre's henpecking; between Wufei's absence and his normal restlessness, he just hadn't had much of an appetite. With another sigh, he rose from the bed, still with the notebook clutched in hand. He didn't think sleep would come easy now, so he might as well make something simple to eat.

To his surprise, Trowa was already in the kitchen, staring at his laptop with the slightest of frowns on his face. He glanced in Yu Jie's direction as the boy came through the door, then returned his gaze to the screen, where it looked like some kind of search program was running. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked quietly.

Yu Jie shook his head, opening up the refrigerator. "Just weird dreams," he replied.

"Anything interesting?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess. Merpeople and some kind of class about seeing the future, I think."

Trowa chuckled. "Sounds like a fantasy novel."

"Yeah…" Looked like they were going to need more bread in a day or so. Three teenaged boys ate a lot, especially sandwiches. "This makes three times for the name, though," he said absently, pulling out the last couple of ingredients he needed.

Behind him, Trowa suddenly paid him a great deal more attention. "Name?" he inquired, pulling up the single result so far of the new search using the amnesiac's fingerprints.

"When I dream, I keep hearing the name Harry. Wufei didn't tell you?" Yu Jie asked, glancing at Trowa.

"No," the pilot answered, staring at the profile. _Harry James Potter_, he read again. According to the coroner's report, killed at the age of one, along with his parents James and Lily Potter, nee Evans, in a car accident. Trowa might have thought there had simply been a mix-up, and that the babe had survived to grow up to become Yu Jie, if it hadn't been for the date.

October 31, 1980 Common Era; they'd died nearly four hundred years ago. He snorted in derision. Even taking into account all the oddities surrounding Yu Jie, the belief that the boy had somehow survived for four centuries without generating any sort of trail was beyond ridiculous. He didn't know what Chang was thinking, demanding that the search parameters be adjusted to search the records back that far…

There was no picture of the child- understandable, given the severe injuries the coroner listed as the cause of death and the moral sensibilities of the time period. There were photos of the parents available, however. Trowa scrolled down to the section of the report that contained them, only to flinch back suddenly enough to draw a concerned inquiry from the other boy.

Acting quickly, the pilot exited out of the report before Yu Jie could see the face of the dead man, the face that was frighteningly similar to his own.

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A/N: As requested through the polls, the next chapter. Courtesy of spending a week in a town teensy enough that the only fast food is a mini-Subway, without any personal internet access. If you see this before the 29th, it's because I found the town library and its supposed computers. Incidentally, this story is currently under editing; the first three chapters in particular really need it. _(27__th_ _The library computers didn't take my flashdrive. Damn them…)_

The next story I hope to get a chapter out on is _Strains of Melody_. Anyway, the poll has been renewed, _Storm Child_ removed from the choices, and _The Boy and the Ring_ reinstated. I'm keeping track of every poll version and adding up the results on a little spreadsheet, so every vote counts, including multiple votes on a story from the same person. I figure if the reader is devoted enough to vote every poll, the story they want deserves that much more attention. Currently, in first through third place are _Melody_, _Know Thyself_, and _Moonshine Glories_.

Happy holidays, everyone!

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29 December 2007


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